ICT help desk agent to customer service representative
An ICT help desk agent already meets 31% of what the customer service representative role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.
71.3/ 100
1 How much of what a customer service representative is expected to do is already part of an ICT help desk 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 customer service representative role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A customer service representative role treats 8 of its required skills as things an ICT help desk agent already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate with customers
- create solutions to problems
- guarantee customer satisfaction
- identify customer's needs
- knowledge base
- manage schedule of tasks
What stands in the way is 16 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 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A customer service representative role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an ICT help desk agent background worth leading with.
- already held perform escalation procedure communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held knowledge base information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held use e-services working with computers
- already held use customer relationship management software working with computers
- already held manage schedule of tasks management skills
- already held perform data analysis working with computers
All 11 carried skills, including the 8 the customer service representative role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 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 implement customer follow-up required
- still to learn apply conflict management required
- still to learn apply knowledge of human behaviour required
- still to learn ensure client orientation required
- still to learn listen actively required
- optional, not held carry out active selling optional
- optional, not held contact customers optional
- optional, not held facilitate official agreement optional
- optional, not held show diplomacy optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- optional, not held upsell products optional
- still to learn determine charges for customer services required
- still to learn process order forms with customer's information required
- still to learn control of expenses required
- still to learn keep records of customer interaction required
- still to learn process data required
- optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
- still to learn process refunds required
- still to learn perform multiple tasks at the same time required
- still to learn process customer orders required
- still to learn customer service required
- optional, not held sales activities optional
- optional, not held relationship marketing optional
- still to learn provide information required
- still to learn have computer literacy required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a customer service representative role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 determine charges for customer services practise this
- 02 customer service study this
- 03 implement customer follow-up 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 11 skills that carry over
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held guarantee customer satisfaction skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held knowledge base knowledge
- already held manage schedule of tasks skill
- already held perform escalation procedure skill
- already held provide customer follow-up services skill
- already held perform data analysis skill
- already held use customer relationship management software skill
- already held use e-services skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
- optional, not held data mining methods optional
- optional, not held consumer protection optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held carry out active selling optional
- optional, not held contact customers optional
- optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
- optional, not held sales activities optional
- optional, not held consumer protection optional
- optional, not held data mining methods optional
- optional, not held facilitate official agreement optional
- optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
- optional, not held relationship marketing optional
- optional, not held show diplomacy optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- optional, not held upsell products optional
21 held skills the customer service representative role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT help platforms knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT infrastructure knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT system user requirements knowledge
- not needed by the target role answer incoming calls skill
- not needed by the target role assist customers skill
- not needed by the target role characteristics of products knowledge
- not needed by the target role characteristics of services knowledge
- not needed by the target role educate on data confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role handle helpdesk problems skill
- not needed by the target role implement a virtual private network skill
- not needed by the target role implement anti-virus software skill
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role keep up to date on product knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role prioritise requests skill
- not needed by the target role product comprehension knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide ICT support skill
- not needed by the target role solve ICT system problems skill
- not needed by the target role support ICT system users skill
- not needed by the target role use ICT hardware skill
- not needed by the target role use ICT ticketing system skill
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 customer service required
- optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
- optional, not held sales activities optional
- optional, not held consumer protection optional
- optional, not held data mining methods optional
- optional, not held relationship marketing optional
Other moves recorded from ICT help desk agent
- ICT help desk manager 58% covered · moderate
- call centre agent 41% covered · substantial
- live chat operator 38% covered · substantial
- after-sales service technician 36% covered · substantial
- customer contact centre information clerk 30% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in office machinery and equipment 28% covered · career change
- technical sales representative in chemical products 28% covered · career change
- technical sales representative in agricultural machinery and equipment 28% covered · career change
Common questions about this move
Can an ICT help desk agent become a customer service representative?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An ICT help desk agent already covers 31% of what a customer service representative is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 8 of which the customer service representative role treats as required.
What skills does an ICT help desk agent need to become a customer service representative?
16 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is determine charges for customer services.
How hard is the move from ICT help desk agent to customer service representative?
Its learning distance is 71.3 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.