Six Sigma for Financial Services: How Leading Companies Are Driving Results Using Lean, Six Sigma, and Process Management [Hardcover]

Rowland Hayler (Author), Michael Nichols (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2006

THREE WORLD-CLASS MANAGEMENT METHODS.

ONE COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCE.

Finally, top executives across the global financial services industry are catching on-and catching up-to what the world's most successful corporations have known for more than a decade: The performance improvement principles of Six Sigma, Lean, and Process Management can be applied to all aspects of any company's operations-with remarkable results.

If you want to take advantage of these proven, performance-enhancing methods, tools, and techniques, this reference helps you to use Six Sigma and other tools in a wide range of financial service applications: commercial or savings banks, diversified financials, securities, insurance firms, and more. Six Sigma for Financial Services delivers a complete and groundbreaking model specifically for financial services created by two experts of Six Sigma deployment and Process Management.

Clear, concise, and comprehensive, this hands-on guide features actual experiences from frontline managers and executives in financial services firms all around the world. You'll see, up close and personal, how they used Six Sigma to illustrate key points and achieve optimal performance in their companies. You'll learn firsthand why business process excellence is crucial for success in an increasingly competitive, mission-critical industry. Using Lean, Six Sigma, and other process tools, you'll be able to run leaner and more efficiently, and provide improved service with the best possible returns.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

What do the leaders in financial services know that you don't? Plenty.

This accessible, comprehensive guide from two top business improvement experts shows how financial giants such as American Express, Bank of America, and Wachovia have applied Six Sigma, Lean, and Process Management to their service-based operations. Hayler & Nichols provide specific, real-world examples and offer step-by-step solutions to help you improve your company's processes.

“An excellent book for anyone involved in a business process excellence journey!” -Paul Baker, Managing Director, Group Operations, Lloyds TSB

“Customer service, top-line growth, compliance, and regulatory oversight have all become crucial for financial institutions….The authors masterfully illustrate how Six Sigma and Lean, under a process management umbrella, support these relevant business objectives.”-Juan Carlos Paez, Chief Operating Officer, BAC Credomatic Network

“A great reference for those of us who want to 'fast-forward' our process innovation initiatives to achieve outstanding results.”-Teng Soon Lang, Executive Vice President and Head, Group Quality & Process Innovation, Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation

“The approaches that Hayler & Nichols describe are not just for the Operations function-they apply equally to Marketing and Sales…business process excellence is critical for maximizing the return on marketing investments and an organization's value creation.”-Arjen Kruger, former Chief Marketing Officer, MasterCard Europe

About the Author

Rowland Hayler is the Vice President of International Operations for Pivotal Resources, a global business improvement consulting firm. Prior to joining Pivotal, he served in a variety of business improvement leadership roles over 15 years at American Express. He has consulted with many leading financial organizations, including Halifax Bank of Scotland, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Marks & Spencer Money, Swisscard, and UBS.

Michael D. Nichols is Principal Consultant/Senior Master Black Belt for Nichols Quality Associates, a consortium of Lean Six Sigma professionals. He was previously the Director-Six Sigma Design/Senior Master Black Belt at American Express, where he codeveloped the Six Sigma Design and Six Sigma Process Management programs. Nichols will also be president of the American Society for Quality in the 2007-2008 year.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (October 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071470379
• ISBN-13: 978-0071470377
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #961,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid advice on customer service for financial-services companies, May 2, 2007

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Six Sigma for Financial Services: How Leading Companies Are Driving Results Using Lean, Six Sigma, and Process Management (Hardcover)

The title of this book is misleading. In fact, its subtitle is more relevant. It does not focus on Six Sigma only, but rather on a variety of tools that companies offering financial services are - or should be - using to achieve what Rowland Hayler and Michael D. Nichols call "business process excellence": creating the greatest possible value for customers. The book is based on a study (described in the index) of 11 leading financial-services companies, some international and some local. The authors frequently cite useful examples from their respondents to anchor some of their theories in real life. Unfortunately, managers who are eager to benefit from this important information may find the authors' prose opaque and abstract. The charts and chapter summaries are helpful, but some readers may need perseverance to learn from this book. Nevertheless, we find the authors' goal laudable: to show how financial-services companies can improve their often-abysmal customer service standards, and thus increase their profits and competitiveness.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for financial service leaders and process professionals, January 31, 2007

By 

Jason Pandolfo (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Six Sigma for Financial Services: How Leading Companies Are Driving Results Using Lean, Six Sigma, and Process Management (Hardcover)

As a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and more importantly having a leadership role in a financial service company, I found this book to be very insightful.
Hayler and Nichols's model for Business Process Excellence provided great examples on how to execute enterprise wide process improvements.
By reading this book, I was able to assess my own company's journey to business process excellence, highlighting opportunities and tools to enhance and evolve our program. I have recommended this book to some of our executive management team responsible for enterprise process improvement and I'm sure productive conversations will have resulted from it.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Applies to more than financial services, June 11, 2007

By 

Chuck Yorke (Mt. Pleasant, SC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Sigma for Financial Services: How Leading Companies Are Driving Results Using Lean, Six Sigma, and Process Management (Hardcover)

Business process excellence methods can and should be used everywhere. Look at the author's examples and figure out how they can relate to your business. Identify your objectives and use the methods to reach those goals.