Root Cause Analysis Template

Root cause analysis, or RCA is a process by which one can get to the root cause of the problem. Often, we see that whenever a problem arises, we come up a plan quickly and start treating the symptoms. But many times, the problem requires deeper thought and analysis so that a permanent solution is achieved. Let us take a simple example to illustrate how root cause analysis works.

If you are experiencing severe headache for more than a week or so, there are two ways of countering it. One, you can take pain killers and get rid of the pain or you can consult a doctor to know the underlying cause of the disease. Similarly, in business, you can either solve the temporary problems or get to the root of the problem to completely eliminate it for a more robust business development strategy. Before, we take a look at the root cause analysis template, let us know some of its benefits and drawbacks.

Root cause analysis is often used in large scaled organizations to know the root cause of a problem. As, these large organizations have thousands of employees, services etc. it becomes difficult to know what exactly is going wrong. It helps organizations to look at a problem in a better way than adopting a knee-jerk attitude to every problem. Let us take a look at some of the benefits of root cause analysis.

Benefits of Root Cause Analysis

• Root cause analysis can help an organization in technical analysis of many problems. Timely observation can save the organization from potentially catastrophic failures.
• Rather than being content with a temporary solution, root cause analysis focuses on a permanent solution to a problem. For example, the auditors are responsible for checking the errors made by the employees, but if employees repeat the same mistakes again and again, a lot of time and effort would be wasted. Instead, the auditors can get to the reason that is making the employees commit that mistake and look for ways of addressing it.
• Root cause analysis has shown many organizations that they have still got a long way to go before they can claim that every department in their organization is working in a structured and efficient way. A root cause analysis ensures that the shortcomings are addressed while they are in their initial stages rather than letting them snowball into major issues.

Drawbacks of Root Cause Analysis

• If out of ten thousand employees in an organization, a group of 10 employees is responsible for a particular problem, the root cause analysis becomes tedious and the levels of detail that a root cause analysis demands would be exhaustive.
• It can be beneficial only if the problem has a unique origin source. There are a lot of factors that are interconnected to a problem, so in these scenarios, the use of root cause analysis becomes a bit difficult.
• It can reflect poorly on a specific department and make the employees feel as if they are the source of all the problems of the organization. This may affect the environment of your workplace.

Let us do a case study of ABC mobile company which is concerned with complaints from customers that the phones that they order from the customer service are sent at wrong addresses. This has resulted in many customers canceling the order and a bad reputation for the company. A team is formed to determine the root cause of this issue.

Simple Root Cause Analysis Template

Description of the Incident This section is used to report the incident in its original form, by using facts and avoiding assumptions. An example of reporting an incident can be: "Around 5,600 customers have reported that the mobile phones that they order from the contact center are sent to the wrong addresses. Customers claim that they specifically tell the customer service agents that they are at work on weekdays and would want the packages to be delivered at their workplace as there would be no one at home to receive it." Modus Operandi Use this section to write down the methods you are going to employ to conduct the investigation. These can be interviews, fishbone diagrams, 5 Why's etc. For example, the team can call a select group of affected customers and ask for their feedback. It can thus listen to the recordings available in the contact center to know exactly what transpired between the agent and the customer. It can also have a word with some agents to understand any difficulties they face in their work. Findings Use this section to describe the findings of your investigation. An example can be, "the investigation revealed that the agents are very courteous with the costumers and do their level best to ensure that customers have a great customer experience. However, it has been realized that after dealing with customers for the most part of the day, the agents feel fatigued and exhausted in the last couple of hours. This makes them commit some errors and one of the most common errors is not updating the workplace address that the customer has provided them with. Also, the tool that the agents are using to update the delivery address is not very responsive and agents need to save the data in the notepads, so that they can update it later. Many times, due to heavy call flow, the agents forget to update the address from the notepad to the customer's details page. This results in the mobile phones being dispatched to the billing address of the customer and as there is no one there to sign for it, it is eventually returned to the warehouse. This whole process has led to a loss in labor, capital and time, besides marring the reputation of the organization. Recommendations This section should be used to provide the organization with some ideas and recommendations about how to work on the shortcomings. In this scenario, the recommendation can be, "the members of the team agree with the fact that sometimes the job of the customer service agents becomes too strenuous and they become vulnerable to commit mistakes. So, it is recommended that the agents been given a short break in the last segment of the day so that they can refresh themselves and speak to customers with enthusiasm and energy. Also, it is recommended that the software be updated so that the data is saved on a real-time basis. Compiled by: (Name and signature of each member) ________________________________

Many thinkers believe that a root cause analysis is often inconclusive as any single cause of an issue is interconnected with many other causes. But, a lot of organizations are using various root cause analysis to understand the basic cause and develop strategies accordingly. The root cause analysis template given above is specific in nature, but you can modify it to meet your research requirements. I hope this article on root cause analysis template is useful to you and helps you get an insight into this research technique.