Live chat operator to call centre agent
A live chat operator already meets 65% of what the call centre agent role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
36.6/ 100
1 How much of what a call centre agent is expected to do is already part of a live chat operator’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 11 of its required skills as things a live chat operator 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 6 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 call centre agent role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a live chat operator 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 11 the call centre agent role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 11 missing skills fall into 6 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 communicate by telephone required
- still to learn listen actively required
- still to learn present reports required
- still to learn speak different languages required
- optional, not held educate on data confidentiality optional
- optional, not held think proactively optional
- still to learn credit card payments required
- still to learn tolerate stress required
- optional, not held apply operations for an ITIL-based environment optional
- optional, not held teamwork principles optional
- optional, not held provide ICT support optional
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 tolerate stress practise this
- 02 communicate by telephone practise this
- 03 credit card payments 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 use customer relationship management software 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
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply operations for an ITIL-based environment optional
- optional, not held educate on data confidentiality optional
- optional, not held provide ICT support optional
- optional, not held teamwork principles optional
- optional, not held think proactively optional
14 held skills the call centre agent role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role call-centre technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out active selling skill
- not needed by the target role discern written communication skill
- not needed by the target role exercise patience skill
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role persuade clients with alternatives skill
- not needed by the target role respond to inquiries in written form skill
- not needed by the target role sales argumentation knowledge
- not needed by the target role type at speed skill
- not needed by the target role use communication devices skill
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use internet chat skill
- not needed by the target role utilise cross-selling skill
- not needed by the target role work with e-services available to citizens skill
2 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 teamwork principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a live chat operator become a call centre agent?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A live chat operator already covers 65% of what a call centre agent is expected to do: 21 skills carry over, 11 of which the call centre agent role treats as required.
What skills does a live chat operator need to become a call centre agent?
6 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is tolerate stress.
How hard is the move from live chat operator to call centre agent?
Its learning distance is 36.6 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.