Using Strategic Leadership and DMAIC to Transform a Global Hospitality Market Leader: A Case Study

Abstract

This paper chronicles the transformations undertaken by outside help to turn XYC company’s status from AAA’s company worst performer to most successful partner worldwide. A more than two-year problem had senior management at XYC Company struggling to find the answer to what was causing them to potentially lose their largest client, AAA company, and stem the tide of employees leaving the company. This led XYC to seek outside help in the form of a consultant to address the problem. The objective of the research is to report and analyze the steps taken to identify and mitigate the root causes of these problems and find effective solutions to improve both customer satisfaction and reducing employee turnover and therefore keep a critical client, AAA. The Six-Sigma methodology DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) was selected as the process improvement framework. As a DMAIC tool, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) was used to assess the business problem (low NPS) which pointed to additional data that was collected using a lean approach for analysis. Over the three-months allotted for improvement, the researchers refined the process and implemented a highly effective analytical approach and solution design. The end results showed substantial improvements in customer- and employee satisfaction, NPS scores and employee efficiency. These solutions and the transformational leadership approach were then implemented across XYC companies globally, resulting in large-scale transformations in work process and culture.