CIGNA & Lean Six Sigma

Since beginning its Lean Six Sigma journey in 2003, CIGNA has evolved from a company with little or no experience in Lean Six Sigma principles and practices, to one that has embraced Lean Six Sigma training and deployment. In fact, CIGNA has earned national recognition for its commitment to excellence in service and quality. In 2006, a panel of judges of Lean Six Sigma experts from industry, academia and publishing recognized CIGNA's evolution when it named CIGNA's former Chairman and CEO Ed Hanway the Lean Six Sigma CEO of the Year.

In being named for the award, sponsored by World Conventions & Business Forums (WCBF), Hanway was cited for his strong personal commitment to quality and continuous improvement, and his dedication to Lean Six Sigma as a vehicle for far-reaching, positive change. The WCBF also recognized:

• CIGNA's Lean Six Sigma integration as a norm across the enterprise, with Black, Green and Yellow belt engagement in all CIGNA business operations and functions.
• Introductory levels of Lean Six Sigma training readily accessible to all employees around the globe through CIGNA online learning.
• Completion of hundreds of projects with a financial impact exceeding many millions of savings per year.
• National recognition received by CIGNA for its service and quality from independent rating organizations such as J.D. Power and Associates^* and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

^*For J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Call Center Certification Program^SM information, visit www.jdpower.com.

"Seven years into our Lean Six Sigma effort, and we're still seeing outstanding results," says David Cordani, President and CEO of CIGNA. "But these results aren't just about CIGNA's operations. These results are real to the people we serve - our customers, clients, partners, consultants and brokers, and health care professionals around the world. They're benefiting from stronger service, improved costs, and improved health outcomes. Lean Six Sigma has contributed in a meaningful way to these positive experiences."

Lean Six Sigma - Proven Methodology. Proven Success.

Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement model that is considered to represent Best Practices by many high-performing corporations. First introduced to CIGNA in 2003, it has become an important part of improving our efficiencies and processes - to the benefit of both our employees and our customers. Now in use on many of CIGNA's most important projects, Lean Six Sigma uses subject matter experts, process mapping and data to get to the root cause of business problems and identifies solutions. Ultimately, it helps improve the way CIGNA delivers products and services to the people we serve every day.

Lean Six Sigma has become embedded within our culture. Across the company, more than 2,000 employees have been trained across the range of Belt levels, from Yellow Belt to Certified Master Black Belts. In addition, numerous leadership teams from across the corporation have attended Blue Belt awareness training sessions, and hundreds of projects and Kaizen events have been completed, improving our quality and reputation in the marketplace, and saving the company millions of dollars.

The Lean Six Sigma initiative at CIGNA has become a driving force for helping CIGNA achieve its business goals and mission to improve the health, well-being, and sense of security of the people we serve.

"Our progress has been remarkable," explains Paul Sanford, vice president, Operational Effectiveness "Thanks to the hard work and discipline of our Lean Six Sigma teams, we'll continue to improve the experience our customers have with CIGNA."