Call centre supervisor to call centre agent
A call centre supervisor already meets 45% of what the call centre agent role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
54.9/ 100
1 How much of what a call centre agent is expected to do is already part of a call centre supervisor’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 call centre agent role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A call centre agent role treats 9 of its required skills as things a call centre supervisor 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
- have computer literacy
- present reports
What stands in the way is 8 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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A call centre agent role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a call centre supervisor background worth leading with.
- already held use customer relationship management software working with computers
- already held adapt to changing situations communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform data analysis working with computers
- already held characteristics of services business, administration and law
- already held characteristics of products engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held teamwork principles generic programmes and qualifications
All 12 carried skills, including the 9 the call centre agent role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 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 handle tasks independently required
- still to learn keep task records required
- still to learn process data required
- still to learn communicate by telephone required
- still to learn listen actively required
- optional, not held educate on data confidentiality optional
- optional, not held handle helpdesk problems optional
- optional, not held perform escalation procedure optional
- optional, not held think proactively optional
- still to learn guarantee customer satisfaction required
- optional, not held apply operations for an ITIL-based environment optional
- optional, not held answer incoming calls optional
- still to learn credit card payments required
- optional, not held e-procurement optional
- still to learn perform multiple tasks at the same time required
- optional, not held prioritise requests optional
- optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
- optional, not held knowledge base optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a call centre agent role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 guarantee customer satisfaction practise this
- 02 handle tasks independently practise this
- 03 communicate by telephone 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 12 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 have computer literacy skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held tolerate stress skill
- already held use customer relationship management software skill
- already held perform data analysis skill
- already held provide customer follow-up services skill
- already held teamwork principles knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held communication principles optional
- optional, not held provide ICT support optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply operations for an ITIL-based environment optional
- optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
- optional, not held e-procurement optional
- optional, not held answer incoming calls optional
- optional, not held communication principles optional
- optional, not held educate on data confidentiality optional
- optional, not held handle helpdesk problems optional
- optional, not held knowledge base optional
- optional, not held perform escalation procedure optional
- optional, not held prioritise requests optional
- optional, not held provide ICT support optional
- optional, not held think proactively optional
21 held skills the call centre agent role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role abide by business ethical code of conducts skill
- not needed by the target role analyse call performance trends skill
- not needed by the target role analyse staff capacity skill
- not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
- not needed by the target role build rapport with people from different cultural backgrounds skill
- not needed by the target role call quality assurance management knowledge
- not needed by the target role call routing knowledge
- not needed by the target role call-centre technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role employment law knowledge
- not needed by the target role forecast workload skill
- not needed by the target role interpret automatic call distribution data skill
- not needed by the target role maintain high quality of calls skill
- not needed by the target role manage ICT project skill
- not needed by the target role manage business knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role measure call quality skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role secure sensitive customer's information skill
- not needed by the target role supervise data entry skill
- not needed by the target role train employees 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 credit card payments required
- optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
- optional, not held e-procurement optional
- optional, not held communication principles optional
- optional, not held knowledge base optional
Common questions about this move
Can a call centre supervisor become a call centre agent?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A call centre supervisor already covers 45% of what a call centre agent is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 9 of which the call centre agent role treats as required.
What skills does a call centre supervisor need to become a call centre agent?
8 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is guarantee customer satisfaction.
How hard is the move from call centre supervisor to call centre agent?
Its learning distance is 54.9 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.