Why Process Improvement Experts Deserve Your Respect

As a marketer, I will be the first to admit that I am not always the most excited to hear a long presentation about “process improvement”…it is generally not one of those topics that has me sitting on the edge of my seat yearning to learn more. However, a recent conversation with members of EMC’s Total Customer Experience Continuous Improvement team helped me develop a deeper appreciation for why a strong focus on processes is so important and how it strengthens how customers perceive and engage with your company (two things that marketers definitely need to care about).

Here are 3 reasons I believe that process improvement experts deserve my (and your) respect.

#1: Thoughtful and consistent processes can propel your brand reputation and customer loyalty.

A blog written by Tracy O’Rourke, an experienced process improvement expert, describes how the experience for a customer at two rental car companies can be drastically different and significantly impact customer perception.

The author compares the experience at Hertz to a smaller company. She notes that not only does the Hertz process have fewer steps, but includes several elements to make the experience more personalized and it consistently takes less time to complete the entire transaction. It’s because of the seamless Hertz process, that it is an easy decision for customers to choose the company for future rental needs and likely recommend it to friends.

Table summarized from blog content written by Tracy O’Rourke (mentioned earlier)

By taking a “customers-in” approach and adapting processes to align with their needs, EMC has also been able to save customers time and effort as well as show them that we understand how they prefer to engage with us. Based on extensive proven research, EMC has learned that there is a very strong correlation between “TTR—time to resolve” (how long it takes to solve a customer issue) and customer satisfaction. As a result of this finding, EMC’s Total Customer Experience team has facilitated a series of workshops that bring together cross-functional experts to determine how we can continue to improve TTR. One outcome of these collaborative meetings was the decision to introduce new features to EMC’s mobile support app—customers now have greater transparency into the status of their particular service request directly at their fingertips and also access to more robust self-service knowledge resources, which prevents the need to open future service requests. This enhanced communication and interactivity through the mobile app helps customers achieve their business goals more quickly and easily.

The examples of both the Hertz rental car process and EMC’s mobile support app enhancements illustrate why more intelligent processes and a focus on continuous improvement are key to winning customer loyalty—and I would challenge any marketer to say that a more personalized experience and respect for customer time are not great attributes to have associated with your company’s brand!

#2: A culture of continuous improvement fueled by process discipline can drive cross-company collaboration and innovation.

Just a few years ago at EMC, process improvement efforts were largely around employee training and to increase the number of Lean Six Sigma certification professionals. Although these activities still occur, today the company has shifted its focus to emphasize a truly collaborative, continuous improvement culture that facilitates knowledge-sharing across geographic borders and functional areas to ensure the most innovative ideas have an opportunity to emerge and flourish.

To keep up with the rapidly changing pace of business and customer expectations, EMC has built a “global village” comprised of continuous improvement experts to ensure that we have the scale and agility to tackle complex customer and business challenges. This village includes professionals around the world, including India, China, Ireland, Egypt and the United States. EMC has tapped into the skills of the village to deliver real value to customers. One such example is through EMC’s Egypt Center of Excellence. Through data analysis, the Egypt team noticed that customers were not as satisfied with their Customer Service “Live Chat” experience. To address this, the team implemented a new training process and found better ways to provide contact center representatives feedback on their communication effectiveness. As a result of this targeted effort, the team was able to see an increase in Live Chat scores from 88% to 96% in 2015. By activating a global network to take on local challenges, EMC has been able to respond to customer needs in an unprecedented way.

And it is not only EMC who understands that a more collaborative culture can lead to real impact. Our EMC process experts meet regularly with their peers from other companies, such as Staples, TJX and Waters to exchange ideas and best practices.

#3: Process improvement experts are actually really cool.

Okay, so this last point is really about opening your mind to who really is a continuous improvement expert. This is not just about a bunch of geeky data people brainstorming ideas on a whiteboard in some stuffy conference room. When I asked my passionate process colleagues at EMC to describe how their role as members of EMC’s corporate Continuous Improvement team is similar to other every day examples outside the B2B technology sector, they had some pretty creative examples to share!

 “We are similar to a race car pit crew—we need to understand complex issues yet be able to make decisions quickly and with no room for error”.

“We are like an orchestra conductor—we bring together all of the different sounds and instruments to create a beautiful symphony”.

Summary

So, as you can tell, there are many reasons why process improvement experts deserve both your and my respect:

• Thoughtful and consistent processes can propel your brand reputation and customer loyalty—this is true in the consumer space (e.g. rental car experience) and business-to-business industries (e.g. EMC’s enhancements to its mobile support app).
• A culture of continuous improvement fueled by process discipline can drive better cross-company collaboration and innovation and deliver tangible benefits to customers.
• And, finally, it’s hard not to see how cool process improvement experts are when you stop and think that they act with the same sense of urgency and precision as a race car pit crew and yet also emulate the grace of an orchestra leader creating the intricate sounds of a symphony.

Companies (and the marketers that work for them) that expect to win customer share of wallet, mind and heart must embrace the power of good processes—and be sure to recognize the value of the teams and individuals who lead them.

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Visit emc.com to learn more about EMC’s approach to continuous improvement and Total Customer Experience. Special thanks to members of EMC’s Continuous Improvement team—Bruce Anacleto, Christopher Barry, James Martin and Monique Gaudette—for their help with this blog content.

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