Tag Archives: Measure

Are Outsourcing Obstacles Too Big To Swallow?

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Chris Niccolls

Last week I saw a question on Linked-In that I thought was particularly interesting. The question was, “What are the top five challenges in BPO transitions that need to be addressed in the outsourcing/offshoring industry?” If there were any “winners” … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Common Sense Contracting, Decision Making, Delivering Services | Tagged Build vs. Buy, change, Improve, Measure, Meetings, Metrics, outsource, Projects, Quality, Quantify, RFP, Staffing, Track, transform | 2 Comments

Creative Projects: A Few Ideas And Tools!

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Chris Niccolls

Every now and then you run across some really useful tools, or fascinating trends, that can help you with your operations. Six months later you may forget about these tools, or they may be replaced by something better. (Hey Facebook, … Continue reading →

Posted in Unique Ideas | Tagged corporations, Improve, Measure, Projects, Synergy | Leave a comment

4th Sigma: Project Charters, Part 2 – A Step by Step Guide

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Chris Niccolls

When you’re ready to start a project you need to create a Project Charter. In our last Blog we went over the consequences of not having a charter. Today, we’re going to cover the steps you need to take to … Continue reading →

Posted in 4th Sigma, Best Practices, Decision Making, Improvement, Continuous or Not | Tagged 4th Sigma, corporations, Improve, Measure, Projects, Quality, Six Sigma, transform | Leave a comment

Size Matters: How Big Is Your Work Day?

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Chris Niccolls

Understanding exactly how many hours of work your staff is capable of is important if you have any hope of efficiently staffing your organization. The hours of capacity in a service organization are usually completely misunderstood. Once you understand the … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Common Sense Contracting, Delivering Services | Tagged Hiring, Measure, outsource, Reporting, Staffing, Track | Leave a comment

How Much Do Your Services Cost?

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Chris Niccolls

Budgeting in Corporate Services has always been an approximate science. In some cases, very approximate. Because your services are far removed from the products that your firm sells to the outside world, it’s hard to know how and when to … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Common Sense Contracting, Decision Making, Uncategorized | Tagged Cost Management, Hiring, Improve, Measure, outsource, Track | Leave a comment

The Regulators: Round 2 – Are Your Costs In Line With The Market… Which Market?

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Chris Niccolls

Yesterday we spoke a bit about the rise of “Regulators” in Fortune 500 Firms. In the past service managers would periodically see directives for firm-wide budget controls, freezes for new hires, or (during especially difficult economic times) special committees that … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Common Sense Contracting, Decision Making, Delivering Services, Improvement, Continuous or Not | Tagged Build vs. Buy, change, Costs, Improve, Measure, outsource, Quality, Quantify, Satisfaction, Six Sigma, Track, transform | 1 Comment

The Regulators : Who Are They And Why Are They Interested In You?

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Chris Niccolls

Most signs for the economy are looking up, and the pressure to reduce costs has reduced. However, as business is rising and new income producing staff is being hired, the new pressure for Corporate Services is to support these new … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Common Sense Contracting, Delivering Services, Improvement, Continuous or Not | Tagged Improve, Measure, Metrics, outsource, Quality, Quantify, Six Sigma, transform | Leave a comment

Management Trends for 2011: MORE!

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Chris Niccolls

The corporate world is changing. The biggest firms in the world are almost entirely public corporations, and an every smaller number of the largest firms are privately owned. Of the largest firms in America, the top five public firms are … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Decision Making, Delivering Services | Tagged change, Improve, Measure, Metrics, Quality, Quantify, Six Sigma, Track | Leave a comment

The 4th Sigma: The Paradox of Customer Service

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Chris Niccolls

You’ve probably heard about it elsewhere, and if you haven’t in these Blogs we’ve discussed how the Six Sigma framework defines waste as any activity that doesn’t contribute value. For example, in “Is Quality Control A Waste of Time?“ we … Continue reading →

Posted in 4th Sigma, Best Practices, Continuous or Not, Delivering Services, Improvement | Tagged change, corporations, Customer Service, Improve, Measure, Metrics, Projects, Quality, Quantify, Satisfaction, transform | 6 Comments

The 4th Sigma: Analysis Paralysis… More Options Don’t Always Help

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Chris Niccolls

Any good management book or management system provides you with more than a few tools or the steps for a process. The best books remind that you are applying these systems to people, people with preferences and limitations. Some people … Continue reading →

Posted in 4th Sigma, Best Practices, Decision Making, Improvement, Continuous or Not, Learning and Development, Unique Ideas | Tagged 4th Sigma, change, Improve, Measure, Metrics, Projects, Quantify, Satisfaction, Six Sigma, Track, transform | Leave a comment