Sayo Afolayan Email and Phone Number
My journey has been a testament to passion and perseverance. Starting my career at the front desk in customer service, I quickly realized my affinity for the dynamic environment of the contact center and climbed up the ranks, driven by my motto: “Work hard.” Today, after 16 years in various leadership roles across contact centers, customer service, sales, and operations, I describe myself as someone deeply in love with all things customer-centric—from customer service and experience to customer success.Throughout my career, which spans diverse sectors such as financial services, fintech, consumer lending, SaaS, e-commerce, and the non-profit sector, I have dedicated myself to transforming customer experiences and enhancing operational efficiency. My strategic leadership, combined with a keen focus on nurturing talent and leveraging innovative technology, has driven significant business growth and profitability. I thrive in environments where the customer is central to a company’s strategy and where continuous improvement, employee engagement, and operational excellence are highly valued.Professional Milestones Across My Roles:• Customer Service Management: Achieved a 58% improvement in resolution rates and a 27% improvement in first contact rates.• Strategic Sales Leadership: Drove sales performance 14% above targets and stimulated an 18% increase in repeat sales.• Customer Base Expansion: Expanded the customer base by over 200%, blending customer success practices with robust sales leadership.• Technological Transformation & Innovation: Championed technology transformations across multiple roles, significantly enhancing customer experience, and operational efficiency and scalability.• Talent Development & Leadership: Fostered team members' professional growth through training, coaching, and mentoring. This contributed to a 50% and 63% increase in team management capacity at two companies, aligning with and supporting their organizational expansions.My core values of integrity, excellence, and collaboration are fundamental to my dedication to helping others achieve success. I am committed to leveraging my deep-rooted customer-centricity to drive business profitability and create impactful customer experiences.Interested in transforming your organization's customer experience and operational efficiency? Let's connect!
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Advisory Council MemberHarvard Business Review Aug 2024 - PresentCanadaA member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, an opt-in research community of business professionals.- Share views, opinions, and insights with peers and the Harvard Business Review staff to shape the magazine, website, books, and other content to better meet audience needs. -
Business DeveloperBrilliant Labs / Labos Créatifs Jan 2024 - PresentSaint John, New Brunswick, Canada• Strategically leading the development of the for-profit, social enterprise by crafting go-live business plans, financial plans, pitch decks, and proposals. • Developing and implementing product commercialization, operations, and sales plans, while actively collaborating on marketing, branding, and communication strategies.• Leveraging market research and data analytics to develop actionable business strategies that achieve optimal operational performance.• Fostering effective stakeholder collaboration with the consultant, executive management team, and internal teams to drive strategic objectives.• Employing strategic planning and execution to ensure the team meets all requirements and successfully submits applications for funding opportunities. -
Business ConsultantBrilliant Labs / Labos Créatifs Aug 2023 - Dec 2023Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada• Collaborated with internal teams to achieve project milestones and ensure the successful launch of the for-profit enterprise.• Represented Brilliant Labs at a social impact investment training program, acquiring advanced knowledge and strategies that enhanced the team’s capabilities in securing impactful investments.
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ConsultantBrilliant Labs / Labos Créatifs May 2023 - Jul 2023Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada• Developed a comprehensive business plan for the social enterprise, outlining its objectives, strategies, financial projections, and operational milestones.• Performed an in-depth market research and analysis to identify growth opportunities and potential competitors for a for-profit, social enterprise.• Formulated a social impact framework for the social enterprise.• Defined key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the social impact and success of the financial enterprise.• Provided strategic advice to ensure the enterprise's long-term sustainability and scalability, balancing financial viability with social impact.
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Fundraising CoordinatorHestia House Inc. Nov 2023 - PresentSaint John, New Brunswick, Canada• Utilizing project management to coordinate the annual Purple Lights Campaign, a key fundraising and awareness drive.• Leading diverse fundraising initiatives to rebuild capacity for sustainable and reliable fundraising.• Utilizing stakeholder engagement expertise to secure ongoing funding sources, enhance organizational visibility, and manage donor database effectively.• Strategically planning and executing targeted social media campaigns on Facebook and Instagram. -
Director Of Customer ServiceAlerzo Mar 2022 - Aug 2022• Guided the team to achieve sales and business targets, delivering an average of 14% above budget in H1 (directly managed 6 front-line managers and indirectly managed 200 specialists).• Renovated all aspects of the organization’s customer service polices, objectives, and initiatives to produce high quality customer service delivery and reflect industry best practices.• Collaborated cross-functionally with operations, pricing, procurement, business development, marketing, product, and development teams to optimize the sales funnel, achieve organizational goals, and successfully implement a new ERP SAP system.• Demonstrated a strong bias for action and the ability to solve complex customer and systemic issues by utilizing a proactive approach and effectively leveraging data and feedback.• Utilized financial data and performance metrics to conduct in-depth analyses, providing actionable insights for strategic planning, resource allocation, and operational efficiency. -
Operations ManagerConnex One Mar 2021 - Feb 2022• Head of the country office managing day-to-day operations covering sales, software implementation, and client success.• Facilitated international sales efforts and supported software implementations across Kenya and South Africa through cross-functional team collaboration.• Guided the sales team to grow company’s customer base by over 200% in 2021.• Formulated success strategies and implemented the right processes, procedures, and practices.• Shaped customer project implementation and drove customer success by ensuring customer expectations/successful outcomes were accomplished. -
Head Contact CenterRenmoney Jan 2019 - Sep 2020Nigeria• Provided operational and strategic leadership for a multidisciplinary contact center encompassing sales, service, and retention specialists (lead a team of 13 front-line managers and indirectly managed a team of 120 agents).• Motivated and directed the contact center to achieve up to 106% sales performance.• Conducted root cause analysis of customer issues and initiated process improvements that achieved 43% overall improvement in service delivery (58% improvement in resolution rates and 27% improvement in first contact rate).• Accelerated overall sales growth in Q4, 2019 by 38% by redesigning an omnichannel contact center to deliver outstanding customer experiences and maximize sales opportunities.• Stimulated an 18% increase in retention sales by improving the customer experience with a dedicated team that focused on fostering the customer relationship.• Overhauled and accelerated significant advancement in customer experience, employee experience and reporting/analytics with the onboarding of a contact center solution and CRM. • Employee engagement survey showed 90% of team members were satisfied or very satisfied working in the contact center.• Successfully trained, coached, and mentored team members, resulting in their promotion into team management roles and driving a 63% increase in team management capacity in response to organizational expansion. -
Business ConsultantSelf-Employed Apr 2017 - Dec 2018Lagos, NigeriaProvide services across business operations and management, virtual assistance, socialmedia management, contact center/customer service, business development and improvement.Key achievements include:• Provided social media management activities and training for several companies across the Fintech, fashion, event management, and medical industries (research, strategy design, and content)• Designed a contact center deployment strategy for the commercial contact center team in a commercial bank.• Set up and management of a new company geared at marketing and brand development.• Provided busines growth and improvement services for companies across fashion, customer service, and IT industries.
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Head Contact Centre And Quality AssuranceEcobank Nigeria Jul 2015 - Mar 2017Lagos Nigeria• Coordinated and guided the omnichannel contact center (Directly managed 9 front-line managers, indirectly managed 50-80 specialists)• Implemented data-driven performance monitoring and reporting processes, ensuring 100% of the performance standards were met. This includes SLAs and TATs standards, resolution rate, CSAT/NPS score, audit rating, no regulatory penalties or losses due to service failure, etc.• Optimized operational efficiency through effective budget management, with a 20% reduction in operating expenses.• Boosted customer satisfaction scores by 16%.• Developed the social media/digital team in line with the bank’s social media strategy.• Designed and established the contact center for the Premier and Advantage banking teams.• Successfully trained, coached, and mentored team members, resulting in their promotion into team management roles and driving a 50% increase in team management capacity in response to organizational expansion. -
Quality Assurance And Facility Management Team LeadEcobank Nigeria Jul 2014 - Jun 2015Lagos, Nigeria• Led the quality assurance program, including call monitoring methodology, quality metrics development, and training and development programs, to maintain high service standards, enhance agent performance, and improve customer satisfaction.• Implemented trend analysis, impact analysis and other management reports through the daily monitoring of service levels (SLs), turn-around-time (TAT) and staff performance.• Updated training and development curriculum and diversified training delivery to enhance product and process knowledge, as well as professional skill competencies of team members, achieving a minimum of 80% proficiency on assessments.• Enhanced operational efficiency by improving scheduled adherence to 95% through effective monitoring activities.• Managed the office facilities and procurement process.• Carried out budget management, vendor billing, and reconciliation processes, preparing monthly and annual reports.• Ensured strict adherence to audit and risk management standards, compliance with the risk register, and promptly addressed audit exceptions for resolution.
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Contact Center Team LeadEcobank Nigeria May 2008 - Jun 2014Nigeria• Directly supervised different teams ranging from 5-50 team specialists (inbound, outbound, email, e-banking, card specialized support desk, communications, remedial and loan recovery, and fraud desk).• Utilized effective performance management, coaching, and mentoring to ensure team targets were met.• Formulated the standard operating manuals (SOMs) and monitored the team for compliance.• Planned and coordinated the outbound product/service telemarketing campaigns ensuring the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of the campaigns.• Designed bulk communication strategies and deployed bank communications to customers via SMS/Email
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Customer Service Quality Representative (Inbound/Outbound Agent)Ecobank Nigeria May 2007 - Apr 2008Nigeria• Received and resolved customer enquiries, requests, and complaints ensuring that issues are resolved within the service level agreement.• Achieved a 90% resolution rate by interacting with various departments to resolve/complete customers’ issues or transactions.• Aggressively tele-marketed the bank products/services and reactivated dormant accounts.
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Customer Service Representative (Front Desk)Ecobank Nigeria Feb 2007 - Apr 2007Nigeria• Opened all types of bank accounts and processed all banking product requests (cards, check book, etc.).• Prepared and deployed all types of banking documentation (caution notices, references, etc.)• Received and resolved customer enquiries, requests, and complaints within the required turn-around time and standard level agreement.
Sayo Afolayan Skills
Sayo Afolayan Education Details
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Business Administration And Management, General -
Babcock UniversitySecond Class Honours, Upper Division (2:1)
Frequently Asked Questions about Sayo Afolayan
What company does Sayo Afolayan work for?
Sayo Afolayan works for Harvard Business Review
What is Sayo Afolayan's role at the current company?
Sayo Afolayan's current role is Customer Experience & Service Management • Operations • Sales • Contact Center • Accelerating Business Profitability • Harvard Business Review Advisory Council Member.
What schools did Sayo Afolayan attend?
Sayo Afolayan attended University Of New Brunswick, Babcock University.
What are some of Sayo Afolayan's interests?
Sayo Afolayan has interest in Human Rights, Education, Health.
What skills is Sayo Afolayan known for?
Sayo Afolayan has skills like Mastercard Cardholder Lifecycle Management Training, Project Management Training, Facilitative Leadership Skils, Customer Care And Relationship Management, Business Ethics And Anti Money Laundering, Leadership Short Skills Programme, Customer Service And Selling Skills, Microsoft And Siebel Crm Trained, Helpdesk And Customer Service Training, Extensive Knowledge Of Microsoft Office Software, Typing Speed Of 60 Wpm, Telephone Etiquette And Marketing Skills.
Who are Sayo Afolayan's colleagues?
Sayo Afolayan's colleagues are Matt C., Christian Florento, Eze David, Stephanie (Curry) Broadright, Helmina Baumann, Raghav Kapoor, Huma Munir.
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