subject: Six Sigma Projects- When Customer Satisfaction Is The Problem [print this page] Six Sigma Projects can be used in a variety of ways to improve business processes and the way that a business works. Many different industries utilize Six Sigma Training to make their business better, but what happens when the problem is not a process, but overall customer satisfaction within the company?
Six Sigma Projects are designed to produce results in regards to process improvement. As such, they have been found to be a useful tool in many different industries beyond the manufacturing sector where the concept was first created. There is no limit to what Six Sigma Projects can improve for a business, as long as there is a process that has a defect and needs to be improved. However, what is a company to do when the issue itself is overall customer satisfaction, without one clear cause for that dissatisfaction?
It's easy enough to implement a Six Sigma Process to fix a particular problem or cause such as slow ordering that results in customers being unhappy. However, when there is a general displeasure for a company for no explicit or designated reason, it can prove to be much more challenging. The good news is that most companies have a customer service department in this day and age that has a computer log full of customer complaints and grievances that can be sorted through to determine the most common causes of unsatisfied customers. However, this can prove to be a grueling task for any team that is charged with the process improvement.
You cannot fix the car if you do not know what on the car needs fixing. Similarly, you cannot fix the business until you find out what exactly needs fixed. This might take more time than you planned on spending on process improvements, but satisfied customers will mean increased profits in the long run. Therefore, it is definitely to your advantage to invest the necessary time into Six Sigma Projects, no matter how long it takes. Once the problem(s) have been clearly identified, you can then move on to figuring out the solution(s) that will produce the best results.
Having a generalized problem and lacking the focus to nail down each specific cause or related process that is affecting that problem is what causes most companies to become naysayers of the Six Sigma Process. They don't utilize all the tools or aren't willing or able to invest the time needed to make sure that they take care of the problems the right way. As such, their attempts fail and leave them bitter about the Six Sigma Process every time. You need to make sure that you allow yourself to focus on each process and define the REAL causes so that you can get REAL solutions for your process improvement.
