To manufacturers, eliminating defects is an obvious way to measure results and garner returns. For years, Six Sigma was a quality-improvement strategy used exclusively by the manufacturing industry to eliminate all types of mistakes, waste, and inefficiencies. The idea behind the strategy is that if a company can measure how many defects there are in a process, it can methodically figure out how to eliminate them and get as close to zero defects as possible. The result is near-perfect products, improved customer satisfaction, and long-term profits.

Now, the Six Sigma strategy has been embraced and implemented by a host of nonmanufacturing industries crossing all service and product lines, from financial institutions to health-care organizations. And the disciplined, data-driven approach to process improvement is making a big impact in areas such as accounts receivable, human resources, technical support, and even sales.

While Six Sigma may not work for every service process, it can be modified to improve nearly any activity that impacts cost, timeliness, and quality of results. Can it work for your ? Here are some considerations for tailoring this production-line strategy to fit service processes.

Start small

Used successfully in large, global corporations like General Electric and Motorola, Six Sigma can also be tailored to work for small companies and on targeted activities. Start simply by focusing on processes that are self-contained within a particular area; that is, choose processes that will not rely on process changes elsewhere in your company. Incremental successes will allow your company to delve deeper into using the strategy as savings begin to emerge and your organization’s confidence level grows.

Start with standardized processes

Six Sigma is a rigorous and systematic strategy that uses facts and statistical analysis to measure and improve operational performance. So, how do organizations such as financial institutions and health-care facilities apply a formulaic strategy to their customer-focused services when every customer is different? They start with the processes that are most standardized. 

If you provide highly-personalized services, begin by evaluating each process that goes into providing those services. Select the processes which have components that are standardized. For instance, any process that requires filling out forms is a likely candidate for improvement. Accounts payable, as well as payroll and benefits processing are good places to find standardized processes. Applying Six Sigma to standardized processes will allow you to more readily identify and prevent “defects” in services.

Recognize service defects through customer relations

At the core of the Six Sigma strategy is the drive to improve customer satisfaction and develop customer loyalty by reducing defects. Defining exactly what constitutes a defect, especially a service defect, can be challenging.

Just as your customers are the reasons for reducing defects, they are also the source for defining them. Therefore, service defects are any flaws in your organization’s processes that prevent it from satisfying your customers. In other words, if your organization’s processes are thwarting your company’s ability to meet customer expectations, you have service defects to address.

The most obvious and quantifiable measure of service defects is lost customers. Customer satisfaction ratings and service turnaround times are also ways to measure service defects.

Make a long-term commitment for long-term impact

Six Sigma presents new opportunities for improving the way companies operate while enhancing the products or services they deliver. To significantly reduce costs and increase profits, however, a company must make a profound commitment to invest in training, communication, evolving and supporting its culture, and developing project leadership.

For any Six Sigma initiative to succeed, whether it is isolated or widespread, manufacturing or service-related, it cannot be relegated to secondary priority status. A long-term commitment is required to drive continuous improvement. The long-term objective is to create and implement processes so well built that defects are measured at levels of only a few per million customer opportunities.