Call centre agent to live chat operator
A call centre agent already meets 59% of what the live chat operator role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
45.6/ 100
1 How much of what a live chat operator 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 live chat operator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A live chat operator role treats 10 of its required skills as things a call centre agent already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt to changing situations
- characteristics of products
- characteristics of services
- create solutions to problems
- guarantee customer satisfaction
- handle tasks independently
What stands in the way is 7 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 21 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A live chat operator 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 handle tasks independently information skills
- already held perform escalation procedure communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held prioritise requests management skills
- already held handle helpdesk problems communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held answer incoming calls assisting and caring
- already held knowledge base information and communication technologies (icts)
All 21 carried skills, including the 10 the live chat operator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 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 discern written communication required
- still to learn respond to inquiries in written form required
- still to learn use internet chat required
- still to learn persuade clients with alternatives required
- optional, not held carry out active selling optional
- optional, not held utilise cross-selling optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
- still to learn information confidentiality required
- optional, not held call-centre technologies optional
- still to learn type at speed required
- still to learn work with e-services available to citizens required
- optional, not held sales argumentation optional
- optional, not held exercise patience optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a live chat operator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 work with e-services available to citizens practise this
- 02 discern written communication practise this
- 03 information confidentiality study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 21 skills that carry over
- already held adapt to changing situations skill
- already held characteristics of products knowledge
- already held characteristics of services knowledge
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held guarantee customer satisfaction skill
- already held handle tasks independently skill
- already held have computer literacy skill
- already held keep task records skill
- already held perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
- already held process data skill
- already held answer incoming calls skill
- already held communication principles knowledge
- already held e-commerce systems knowledge
- already held e-procurement knowledge
- already held handle helpdesk problems skill
- already held knowledge base knowledge
- already held perform data analysis skill
- already held perform escalation procedure 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 use communication devices optional
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held carry out active selling optional
- optional, not held sales argumentation optional
- optional, not held utilise cross-selling optional
- optional, not held call-centre technologies optional
- optional, not held exercise patience optional
- optional, not held use communication devices optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
11 held skills the live chat operator role does not ask for
- 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 credit card payments knowledge
- not needed by the target role educate on data confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role listen actively skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role provide ICT support 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
3 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 information confidentiality required
- optional, not held sales argumentation optional
- optional, not held call-centre technologies optional
Other moves recorded from call centre agent
- 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
- 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 live chat operator?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A call centre agent already covers 59% of what a live chat operator is expected to do: 21 skills carry over, 10 of which the live chat operator role treats as required.
What skills does a call centre agent need to become a live chat operator?
7 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is work with e-services available to citizens.
How hard is the move from call centre agent to live chat operator?
Its learning distance is 45.6 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.