Call centre agent to customer service representative
A call centre agent already meets 36% of what the customer service representative role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.
67.9/ 100
1 How much of what a customer service representative is expected to do is already part of a call centre agent’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the customer service representative role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A customer service representative role treats 9 of its required skills as things a call centre agent already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- create solutions to problems
- guarantee customer satisfaction
- have computer literacy
- knowledge base
- listen actively
- perform escalation procedure
What stands in the way is 15 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A customer service representative role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a call centre agent background worth leading with.
- already held perform escalation procedure communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held knowledge base information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held use customer relationship management software working with computers
- already held process data information skills
- already held e-commerce systems information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held perform data analysis working with computers
All 13 carried skills, including the 9 the customer service representative role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn identify customer's needs required
- still to learn implement customer follow-up required
- still to learn apply conflict management required
- still to learn apply knowledge of human behaviour required
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- still to learn ensure client orientation required
- optional, not held carry out active selling optional
- optional, not held contact customers optional
- optional, not held facilitate official agreement optional
- optional, not held show diplomacy optional
- optional, not held upsell products optional
- still to learn determine charges for customer services required
- still to learn process order forms with customer's information required
- still to learn control of expenses required
- still to learn keep records of customer interaction required
- optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
- still to learn process refunds required
- still to learn manage schedule of tasks required
- still to learn process customer orders required
- still to learn customer service required
- optional, not held sales activities optional
- optional, not held relationship marketing optional
- still to learn provide information required
- optional, not held data mining methods optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a customer service representative role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 determine charges for customer services practise this
- 02 customer service study this
- 03 identify customer's needs practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 13 skills that carry over
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held guarantee customer satisfaction skill
- already held have computer literacy skill
- already held knowledge base knowledge
- already held listen actively skill
- already held perform escalation procedure skill
- already held perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
- already held process data skill
- already held provide customer follow-up services skill
- already held e-commerce systems knowledge
- already held perform data analysis skill
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held use customer relationship management software skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held consumer protection optional
- optional, not held use e-services optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held carry out active selling optional
- optional, not held contact customers optional
- optional, not held sales activities optional
- optional, not held consumer protection optional
- optional, not held data mining methods optional
- optional, not held facilitate official agreement optional
- optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
- optional, not held relationship marketing optional
- optional, not held show diplomacy optional
- optional, not held upsell products optional
- optional, not held use e-services optional
19 held skills the customer service representative role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt to changing situations skill
- not needed by the target role answer incoming calls skill
- not needed by the target role apply operations for an ITIL-based environment skill
- not needed by the target role characteristics of products knowledge
- not needed by the target role characteristics of services knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate by telephone skill
- not needed by the target role communication principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role credit card payments knowledge
- not needed by the target role e-procurement knowledge
- not needed by the target role educate on data confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role handle helpdesk problems skill
- not needed by the target role handle tasks independently skill
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role prioritise requests skill
- not needed by the target role provide ICT support skill
- not needed by the target role teamwork principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role think proactively skill
- not needed by the target role tolerate stress skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn customer service required
- optional, not held sales activities optional
- optional, not held consumer protection optional
- optional, not held data mining methods optional
- optional, not held relationship marketing optional
Other moves recorded from call centre agent
- live chat operator 59% covered · moderate
- ICT help desk agent 46% covered · substantial
- car leasing agent 35% covered · substantial
- sales processor 32% covered · substantial
- call centre supervisor 32% covered · substantial
- ICT help desk manager 30% covered · substantial
- customer contact centre information clerk 28% covered · substantial
- contact centre supervisor 27% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a call centre agent become a customer service representative?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A call centre agent already covers 36% of what a customer service representative is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 9 of which the customer service representative role treats as required.
What skills does a call centre agent need to become a customer service representative?
15 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is determine charges for customer services.
How hard is the move from call centre agent to customer service representative?
Its learning distance is 67.9 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.