Call centre agent to ICT help desk manager
A call centre agent already meets 30% of what the ICT help desk manager role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
66.7/ 100
1 How much of what an ICT help desk manager 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 ICT help desk manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An ICT help desk manager role treats 5 of its required skills as things a call centre agent already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- characteristics of products
- characteristics of services
- create solutions to problems
- educate on data confidentiality
- provide ICT support
What stands in the way is 11 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An ICT help desk manager 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 provide ICT support working with computers
- already held prioritise requests management skills
- already held educate on data confidentiality communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use customer relationship management software working with computers
- already held characteristics of services business, administration and law
- already held characteristics of products engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 8 carried skills, including the 5 the ICT help desk manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 7 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 analyse staff capacity required
- still to learn forecast workload required
- still to learn manage staff required
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- still to learn product comprehension required
- still to learn organisational structure required
- optional, not held ICT market optional
- optional, not held ICT quality policy optional
- optional, not held call quality assurance management optional
- still to learn keep up to date on product knowledge required
- still to learn supervise data entry required
- still to learn use ICT hardware required
- still to learn use ICT ticketing system required
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- optional, not held coach employees optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- still to learn secure sensitive customer's information required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an ICT help desk manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 keep up to date on product knowledge practise this
- 02 product comprehension study this
- 03 secure sensitive customer's information 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held characteristics of products knowledge
- already held characteristics of services knowledge
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held educate on data confidentiality skill
- already held provide ICT support skill
- already held prioritise requests skill
- already held provide customer follow-up services skill
- already held use customer relationship management software skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held ICT help platforms optional
- optional, not held ICT process quality models optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ICT help platforms optional
- optional, not held ICT market optional
- optional, not held ICT process quality models optional
- optional, not held ICT quality policy optional
- optional, not held call quality assurance management optional
- optional, not held coach employees optional
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
24 held skills the ICT help desk manager 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 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-commerce systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role e-procurement knowledge
- not needed by the target role guarantee customer satisfaction 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 have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role knowledge base knowledge
- not needed by the target role listen actively skill
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform escalation procedure skill
- not needed by the target role perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role process data skill
- not needed by the target role speak different languages 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
7 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 product comprehension required
- still to learn organisational structure required
- optional, not held ICT help platforms optional
- optional, not held ICT market optional
- optional, not held ICT process quality models optional
- optional, not held ICT quality policy optional
- optional, not held call quality assurance management optional
Other moves recorded from call centre agent
- live chat operator 59% covered · moderate
- ICT help desk agent 46% covered · substantial
- customer service representative 36% covered · substantial
- car leasing agent 35% covered · substantial
- sales processor 32% covered · substantial
- call centre supervisor 32% 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 an ICT help desk manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A call centre agent already covers 30% of what an ICT help desk manager is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 5 of which the ICT help desk manager role treats as required.
What skills does a call centre agent need to become an ICT help desk manager?
11 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is keep up to date on product knowledge.
How hard is the move from call centre agent to ICT help desk manager?
Its learning distance is 66.7 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.