Root cause analysis

There are increasing pressures on organisations to
achieve "right first time" resolution from a service,
quality and cost perspective

All too often organisations do not conduct or have the capability,
understanding or means to undertake root cause analysis and
therefore enter into a cycle where performance improvement will
never be attained.

From our experience of working with leading organisations, root cause
analysis can be used for competitive advantage, particularly when it comes
to customer management and customer retention strategies.

By embedding root cause analysis into a regular pattern with rigorous analysis
and meaningful reporting to senior management, information can be used to
reduce cost, improve service and quality and can often be used to change the
nature of the relationship the organisation has with its customers.

A good example of this is in complaint handling functions in financial services where the focus has typically been on resolving complaints in a timely manner to the satisfaction of the consumer and the business. Typically the recording of the complaint issue does not represent the root cause of the issue and therefore there is no evidence to suggest that any improvements should be made by senior management.

Leading organisations recognise the strategic importance of root cause analysis and have implemented practices and governance controls with clear ownership by senior management resulting in improved practices in the manufacture of new product and improvement in service, cost and quality in complaint handling, in turn enhancing revenue and reducing complaint volumes.