The document summarizes an email turnaround project at a company. The goal is to respond to 100% of client emails within 48 hours, currently only 55% meet that goal. The project aims to reduce the percentage of late responses from 45% to 28% through process improvements. Analysis found the main delays occur when emails are assigned to representatives or business units. Pilots on weekends and bypassing approvals reduced defects by 38% and turned around emails faster.

1. Flagship E-mail Turnaround Project Control Tollgate Presentation

2. Team Charter Executive Summary The goal of the Flagship E-mail team is to respond to 100% of client e-mails within 48 hours. In the current work environment the group is only responding to about 55% of e-mails within this timeframe. This project will reduce the percentage of defects from 45% to 28%. Business Problem/Opportunity Within the current environment there are:  Forty-five percent of client e-mails are responded to in greater than 48 hours.  Delays within the e-mail process.  Increased cycle-times for e-mail received after hours.  Large overtime and contingency requirements to manage daily volumes.  High defect rates/low sigma ratings for turnaround times.  Client dissatisfaction with prolonged response times. Project Benefits The Primary goal of this project is to reduce cycle-time for Flagship e-mails.  Save costs by reducing reliance on overtime and phone assistance.  Increase client satisfaction by more efficiently responding to inquiries.  Reduce or eliminate rework by lowering departmental “redundancy” rates. While the department goal is to respond to 100% of e-mails in 48 hours, the goal of this project is to achieve a 72% rate. This project was initiated as a result of Voice of the Business feedback.

3. High Level SIPOC

4. 74 VOC items pertaining to HNW e-mails received between 3/2001 and 2/2003. 34 of 74 were negative feedback regarding e-mail turnaround times. 15 of 34 were from Flagship clients. “ Two to three days is unacceptable.” “ Client doesn’t like how long it takes to send and receive e-mail.” “ E-mails should be handled in a more timely manner.” “ E-mail responses take too long.” Reactive VOC Data

5. Client Expectations “ The promptness of the service should be improved” “ Why would I use e mail when I can get to someone immediately by phone? I find e-mail the most effective way of communicating IF people answer promptly.” “ I have no problems with the response time nor the quality of the responses.” “ E-mail is intended as a responsive medium. Vanguard's policy of answering within 2 business days is poor and very poor relative to your competition.” *Survey developed by Web Services Response Label Frequency Percentage Adjusted Percentage Within 8 hours after sending the e-mail 94 12.58 12.97 Within 24 hours after sending the e-mail 407 54.48 56.14 Within 48 hours after sending the e-mail 159 21.29 21.93 Within 72 hours after sending the e-mail 22 2.95 3.03 Other, (please specify): 43 5.76 5.93 Total 725 97.05 100.00

6. Data Collection Plan

7. Analyze Phase Progress to date: Completed Analyze phase on 5-9-2003 Control charts, pareto charts and process step comparisons will drive Improve phase Major process delays identified in 4 of 10 steps Assigned to Business Unit Assigned to Representative Accepted by Representative *Assigned to other unit *limited control for this status

8. Analysis Sampled 812 e-mails out of population of 25,800 to determine which e-mail statuses contribute most to process delays. The process is comprised of 12 distinct process statuses. The findings of this analysis follow: Status 1: “Assigned to Business” 124 e-mails remained in this status over 48 hours 55 e-mails remained in this status between 40 and 48 hours Average turnaround in this status is 16.54 hours Status 4: “Assigned to Representative” 35 e-mails remained in this status over 48 hours 25 items remained in this status between 40 and 48 hours Status 5: “Accepted by Representative” 11 e-mails remained in this status over 48 hours 15 e-mails remained in this status between 20 and 48 hours Of 812 sampled items, 21% remained within one status for over 48 hours. Of 812 sampled items, 31% remained within one status for over 40 hours. Sampled 1067 e-mails out of population of 25,800 to determine which

9. Process Defects 58% of defects within the process sample were received Friday through Sunday.

10. Improve Phase Progress to date: Utilized three distinct pilots to achieve results. Improve phase was completed on 6/20/2003.

11. Pilot Summary Pilot 1: Weekend Pilot Criteria: All e-mails with exception of “relationship” topics will bypass assigned phone reps. Staffing for each Saturday will increase to 2 FTEs. Measure: During pilot phase the number of e-mails sent on Saturdays increased from 2.4% of volume to 8.3% of total volume. Result: Resulted in 69 less defects during pilot, or a reduction of 4.5%

12. Pilot Pre-Pilot 1.61 Sigma 2.09 Sigma Special cause data points include items sent to other departments, July 4 holiday, and the loss of 1 FTE to disability.

13. Pilot Success For period of 6/19 – 7/8 the defect rate for Flagship dropped by 38%. (45% to 28%) Average turnaround for the pilot dropped from 42 hours to 29 hours. 12.67% of all e-mails were sent via “Weekday” or “Weekend” pilots. Value Added = $276,000 annually. Lost productivity and Contingency coverage ($158k) Voyager Coverage Does not include Flagship Contingency Reduced rework ($49k) Kickbacks to Writer Bypass Approvals Overtime costs ($69k)

14. Sigma Shifts from 1.61 to 2.09. Client Compliments “ Please extend my sincere thanks to Kim Acosta for taking the time to reply in your absence with a very extensive and very clear message regarding my query on various stop orders.” “ And it was a delightful surprise to get the response on the weekend.” No Negative Feedback from Clients! Pilot Success