Contact centre supervisor to ICT help desk manager
A contact centre supervisor already meets 35% of what the ICT help desk manager role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
62.8/ 100
1 How much of what an ICT help desk manager is expected to do is already part of a contact 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 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 6 of its required skills as things a contact centre supervisor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse staff capacity
- characteristics of products
- characteristics of services
- create solutions to problems
- forecast workload
- manage staff
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 9 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 contact centre supervisor background worth leading with.
- already held call quality assurance management business, administration and law
- already held forecast workload management skills
- already held analyse staff capacity management skills
- already held characteristics of services business, administration and law
- already held characteristics of products engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held train employees communication, collaboration and creativity
All 9 carried skills, including the 6 the ICT help desk manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 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 use ICT hardware required
- still to learn provide ICT support required
- still to learn use ICT ticketing system required
- optional, not held use customer relationship management software 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
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- still to learn educate on data confidentiality required
- optional, not held coach employees optional
- still to learn keep up to date on product knowledge required
- still to learn supervise data entry required
- still to learn secure sensitive customer's information required
- optional, not held provide customer follow-up services optional
- optional, not held ICT help platforms optional
- optional, not held ICT process quality models optional
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 9 skills that carry over
- already held analyse staff capacity skill
- already held characteristics of products knowledge
- already held characteristics of services knowledge
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held forecast workload skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held call quality assurance management knowledge
- already held perform project management skill
- already held train employees skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- optional, not held prioritise requests 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 coach employees optional
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- optional, not held prioritise requests optional
- optional, not held provide customer follow-up services optional
- optional, not held use customer relationship management software optional
24 held skills the ICT help desk manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse customer service surveys skill
- not needed by the target role contact customers skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate operational activities skill
- not needed by the target role create a work atmosphere of continuous improvement skill
- not needed by the target role customer relationship management knowledge
- not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
- not needed by the target role e-commerce systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role fix meetings skill
- not needed by the target role follow company standards skill
- not needed by the target role handle customer complaints skill
- not needed by the target role handle helpdesk problems skill
- not needed by the target role keep records of customer interaction skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role manage resources skill
- not needed by the target role measure call quality skill
- not needed by the target role measure customer feedback skill
- not needed by the target role monitor customer service skill
- not needed by the target role motivate employees skill
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role respond to customers' inquiries skill
- not needed by the target role supervise work skill
- not needed by the target role teamwork principles knowledge
6 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
Common questions about this move
Can a contact centre supervisor become an ICT help desk manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A contact centre supervisor already covers 35% of what an ICT help desk manager is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 6 of which the ICT help desk manager role treats as required.
What skills does a contact centre supervisor need to become an ICT help desk manager?
10 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with computers. The single most important is keep up to date on product knowledge.
How hard is the move from contact centre supervisor to ICT help desk manager?
Its learning distance is 62.8 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.