Client relations manager to service manager
A client relations manager already meets 52% of what the service manager role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
60.5/ 100
1 How much of what a service manager is expected to do is already part of a client relations manager’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 service manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A service manager role treats 21 of its required skills as things a client relations manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- build business relationships
- communicate with customer service department
- communicate with customers
- contact customers
- corporate social responsibility
- create solutions to problems
What stands in the way is 10 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 35 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A service manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a client relations manager background worth leading with.
- already held communicate with customer service department communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage customer service management skills
- already held perform customers’ needs analysis communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform customer management assisting and caring
- already held relationship marketing business, administration and law
- already held analyse customer service surveys information skills
All 35 carried skills, including the 21 the service manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 49 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 maintain relationship with customers required
- still to learn provide high quality customer service required
- still to learn maintain customer service required
- still to learn respond to customers' inquiries required
- still to learn sell services required
- optional, not held deal with pressure from unexpected circumstances optional
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held manage workflow processes optional
- optional, not held order supplies optional
- optional, not held persuade clients with alternatives optional
- optional, not held represent the organisation optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
- still to learn develop business plans required
- still to learn maintain professional administration required
- optional, not held carry out inventory planning optional
- optional, not held manage a small-to-medium business optional
- optional, not held manage key performance indicators of call centres optional
- optional, not held assess employees' capability levels optional
- optional, not held coordinate events optional
- optional, not held create a work atmosphere of continuous improvement optional
- optional, not held develop working procedures optional
- optional, not held establish daily priorities optional
- optional, not held evaluate employees optional
- optional, not held evaluate performance of organisational collaborators optional
- optional, not held manage profitability optional
- optional, not held manage supplies optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held stimulate creative processes optional
- still to learn inform customers of activity changes required
- optional, not held manage health and safety standards optional
- optional, not held oversee quality control optional
- still to learn information confidentiality required
- optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
- still to learn video conferencing tool required
- optional, not held manage membership database optional
- optional, not held produce sales reports optional
- optional, not held analyse call centre activities optional
- optional, not held analyse goal progress optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a service manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 develop business plans practise this
- 02 information confidentiality study this
- 03 maintain relationship with customers 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 35 skills that carry over
- already held build business relationships skill
- already held communicate with customer service department skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held contact customers skill
- already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held customer relationship management knowledge
- already held customer service knowledge
- already held data protection knowledge
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held follow company standards skill
- already held guarantee customer satisfaction skill
- already held handle customer complaints skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held manage customer service skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held monitor customer service skill
- already held perform customer management skill
- already held perform customers’ needs analysis skill
- already held product comprehension knowledge
- already held supervise work skill
- already held achieve sales targets skill
- already held analyse business processes skill
- already held analyse customer service surveys skill
- already held business management principles knowledge
- already held fix meetings skill
- already held implement marketing strategies skill
- already held implement sales strategies skill
- already held keep records of customer interaction skill
- already held make strategic business decisions skill
- already held measure customer feedback skill
- already held plan marketing campaigns skill
- already held relationship marketing knowledge
- already held sales strategies knowledge
- already held supervise sales activities skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held business analysis optional
- optional, not held call quality assurance management optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
- optional, not held collect items for laundry service optional
39 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held carry out inventory planning optional
- optional, not held collect items for laundry service optional
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held deal with pressure from unexpected circumstances optional
- optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held manage a small-to-medium business optional
- optional, not held manage key performance indicators of call centres optional
- optional, not held manage membership database optional
- optional, not held produce sales reports optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held analyse call centre activities optional
- optional, not held analyse goal progress optional
- optional, not held assess employees' capability levels optional
- optional, not held business analysis optional
- optional, not held call quality assurance management optional
- optional, not held coordinate events optional
- optional, not held create a work atmosphere of continuous improvement optional
- optional, not held develop working procedures optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
- optional, not held establish daily priorities optional
- optional, not held evaluate employees optional
- optional, not held evaluate performance of organisational collaborators optional
- optional, not held manage health and safety standards optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held manage profitability optional
- optional, not held manage supplies optional
- optional, not held manage workflow processes optional
- optional, not held order supplies optional
- optional, not held oversee quality control optional
- optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
- optional, not held persuade clients with alternatives optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- optional, not held represent the organisation optional
- optional, not held stimulate creative processes optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
25 held skills the service manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on public relations skill
- not needed by the target role analyse business plans skill
- not needed by the target role analyse business requirements skill
- not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
- not needed by the target role build trust skill
- not needed by the target role business communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role collaborate in the development of marketing strategies skill
- not needed by the target role collect customer data skill
- not needed by the target role communication principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role corporate sustainability knowledge
- not needed by the target role deliver a sales pitch skill
- not needed by the target role identify new business opportunities skill
- not needed by the target role knowledge base knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role manage accounts skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role maximise sales revenues skill
- not needed by the target role perform business analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform market research skill
- not needed by the target role plan health and safety procedures skill
- not needed by the target role public relations knowledge
- not needed by the target role study sales levels of products skill
- not needed by the target role supervise the management of an establishment skill
- not needed by the target role teach customer service techniques skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
9 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
- still to learn video conferencing tool required
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held business analysis optional
- optional, not held call quality assurance management optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
Common questions about this move
Can a client relations manager become a service manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A client relations manager already covers 52% of what a service manager is expected to do: 35 skills carry over, 21 of which the service manager role treats as required.
What skills does a client relations manager need to become a service manager?
10 required skills are missing, plus 39 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is develop business plans.
How hard is the move from client relations manager to service manager?
Its learning distance is 60.5 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.