Capital One Bank
Company: Capital One Bank, McLean, VA
Company Description: Capital One at a glance - A leading diversified bank with $296.6 billion in assets, $202.7 billion in loans and $213.9 billion in deposits - Major operations in 15 U.S. cities, Canada, U.K. - More than 50 million customer accounts and 37,000 associates - A FORTUNE 500 Company - #148
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Contact Center Leader of the Year
Nomination Title: Alice Sesay, Director of Customer Advocacy
Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since the beginning of July 2011 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Alice Sesay’s leadership has been the driving force behind the rapid improvement of Capital One Bank’s Customer Advocacy department.
Alice joined Capital One in February of 2011 to lead Customer Advocacy; a department that was only resolving 12% of customer issues in 3 days or less, and had an advocate efficiency of 3 cases per day.
Shortly after taking the reigns of Customer Advocacy, Alice communicated a recovery plan headlined with the mantra, “Passion for Excellence, Service from the Heart”.
The pillars of this plan which included standardized performance metrics and management, development of partnerships with various groups throughout the company, and process improvements led to the following windfall results:
•96.36% of customer issues resolved in 2 days or less
•Advocate efficiency improved from 3 cases/day to 4 cases/hour
•Over $2M increase in dollars saved monthly through customer retention efforts
•Department considered a beacon for associate engagement and change management
•Department continuously receives positive customer feedback
•Sustained performance while taking on an expanded role resulting in an 100% increase of volume
This graduate of University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler MBA program and Six Sigma Master Black Belt is as sharp as they come, but it’s her ability to cast a vision and the passion she emits that sets her apart.
The etymology of the word leader takes us back to the prehistoric North Germanic word laithjan, meaning journey. Alice recognized that the improvement of Customer Advocacy would be a journey; thus she made it her mission to effectively communicate to her team and partners the starting point, the ending destination, and all the valleys and mountains in between the journey to transform the department into one of the top issue resolution teams in the industry.
Not only did she outline the journey, she was there lighting the path and guiding the team’s steps. It’s not uncommon to see Alice on the operations floor interacting with front line associates or working side by side with one of her project teams brainstorming solutions to customer impacting issues…she’s been there through it all!
In addition to being able to motivate people to push towards a common goal, Alice’s passion is contagious. She is extremely passionate about her work and delivering results, but most of all she’s deeply passionate about the people. Both customers and associates rave in regards to the professionalism, honesty, and empathy she shows towards others.
Customer Advocacy associate Sonya Smith had the following to say, “Alice is the epitome of professionalism with a heart of gold that makes everyone in her presence strive for excellence.”
With her ‘conquer the world’ attitude and resilient commitment to success, the Customer Advocacy Department has truly transformed from simply resolving customer issues to creating customer experiences that define Capitals One’s loyalty and dedication to our customers.
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the nominee:
Alice Sesay joined Capital One in February 2011 as the Director of Customer Advocacy. Her organization manages contact center escalations, branch support, executive and regulatory complaints for the bank. At Capital One, she launched a motto of “Passion for Excellence -Service from the Heart” that has resonated with her entire organization. Under her leadership, the customer advocacy organization has been transformed to solve complex customer problems in a manner that minimizes customer effort and increases overall satisfaction.
Alice holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina, and Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland.