Live chat operator to customer service representative
A live chat operator already meets 32% of what the customer service representative role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.
70.4/ 100
1 How much of what a customer service representative 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 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 a live chat operator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- create solutions to problems
- guarantee customer satisfaction
- have computer literacy
- knowledge base
- perform escalation procedure
- perform multiple tasks at the same time
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 12 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 a live chat operator 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 customer relationship management software working with computers
- already held process data information skills
- already held carry out active selling communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held e-commerce systems information and communication technologies (icts)
All 12 carried skills, including the 8 the customer service representative role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 27 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 identify customer's needs required
- 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 communicate with customers required
- still to learn ensure client orientation required
- still to learn listen actively required
- 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
- optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
- still to learn process refunds required
- still to learn manage schedule of tasks 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
- optional, not held data mining methods optional
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 identify customer's needs 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 create solutions to problems skill
- already held guarantee customer satisfaction skill
- already held have computer literacy skill
- already held knowledge base knowledge
- already held perform escalation procedure skill
- already held perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
- already held process data skill
- already held provide customer follow-up services skill
- already held carry out active selling skill
- already held e-commerce systems knowledge
- already held perform data analysis skill
- already held use customer relationship management software skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held consumer protection optional
- optional, not held use e-services optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held contact customers 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
- optional, not held use e-services optional
23 held skills the customer service representative role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt to changing situations skill
- not needed by the target role answer incoming calls skill
- not needed by the target role call-centre technologies knowledge
- 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 communication principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role discern written communication skill
- not needed by the target role e-procurement knowledge
- not needed by the target role exercise patience skill
- not needed by the target role handle helpdesk problems skill
- not needed by the target role handle tasks independently 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 persuade clients with alternatives skill
- not needed by the target role prioritise requests 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
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 customer service required
- 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
Common questions about this move
Can a live chat operator become a customer service representative?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A live chat operator already covers 32% of what a customer service representative is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 8 of which the customer service representative role treats as required.
What skills does a live chat operator need to become a customer service representative?
16 required skills are missing, plus 11 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 live chat operator to customer service representative?
Its learning distance is 70.4 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.