What does a customer service manager do? Key responsibilities and skills

Many customer service agents reach a point in their careers where they decide to transition into a new role. Those next steps could take you in many directions: sales, customer success, or people ops, to name a few. But one of the most likely moves is to become a customer service manager.

After years of helping customers find answers to their queries and honing your customer service skills, you’re ready to take on more responsibility. But managing a team of agents and consistently delivering excellent customer experiences isn’t easy.

So, what is a customer service manager? To become a great manager, you must know how to deliver top-notch customer support and possess the communication and leadership skills to supervise a team. It’s not for everyone, but customer service management is a fulfilling, challenging role for the right person.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

• What is a customer service manager?
• Customer service manager job description + example
• What does a customer service manager do?
• What are the qualifications and skills needed to be a customer service manager?
• How to become a customer service manager
• From service agent to customer support manager
• Download a sample customer service manager resume

What is a customer service manager?

The customer service manager leads the customer service department through its daily routine. The goals for customer service managers revolve around helping the department succeed and improving results. They provide comprehensive customer service training as well as the tools and guidance necessary to deliver great customer experiences.

Customer service manager responsibilities and duties

So, what does a customer service manager do? As head of the department, the customer service manager is responsible for its overall success. Customer service manager duties include:

• Compiling and analyzing data to measure performance
• Reporting on department performance to upper management
• Conducting market research to stay up to date on trends
• Overseeing day-to-day operations of the customer service team
• Establishing department standards and procedures
• Setting customer service objectives and goals
• Hiring and training new personnel

Customer service manager job description + example

A customer service manager’s job description will vary depending on the hiring company’s industry and unique goals. But you can refer to the example below for a snapshot of what the role can entail:

What does a customer service manager do?

A customer service manager leads a team of customer service agents and works with them to resolve customer issues and ensure customer satisfaction. The customer service manager’s role is not to be confused with a customer success manager, who helps customers derive maximum value from your product or service to achieve their goals.

What are the qualifications and skills needed to be a customer service manager?

Although having a degree might enhance your resume, what matters most is your ability to serve customers and manage a team. Having a vast range of soft skills will also help you transition into a customer service manager role.

But this isn’t an entry-level job, so most employers are looking for applicants with several years of experience in customer service or a related field (like retail or hospitality). According to Maya Rotenberg, VP of marketing at Stoke Talent, recruiters look for candidates who’ve held jobs that teach a basic understanding of customer expectations and behavior.

“Recruiters look for candidates who’ve held jobs that teach a basic understanding of customer expectations and behavior.”Maya Rotenberg, VP of marketing at Stoke Talent

We spoke with other business leaders for their perspectives on what it takes to become a successful customer service manager. They recommend highlighting the following characteristics, skills, and certifications on your resume to stand out from the rest.

Customer service manager traits and soft skills

The skills listed on your resume can make or break your chances of landing a job as a customer service manager. Remember: You’ll need a balance of people, management, and service skills for this role.

Customer service managers should possess:

• Communication skills: To succeed in customer service management, you must be a clear and persuasive speaker, using the right tone of voice when dealing with customers and employees. You should also be able to practice active listening while interacting with customers and team members.
• Motivational skills: You should step up and find ways to lift spirits when team morale is low. Since people follow your example, you’ll also have to encourage yourself to keep going when times are tough.
• Customer-centric attitude: The customer is at the heart of customer service, so you always need to put the customer first. Karla Juric, a customer support manager at Better Proposals, says the customer support team is the customer’s “safe space.” As the manager, you’re the person they turn to when they’ve run out of options.
• Patience: Handling customer complaints and supervising service agents can be difficult. Remaining calm and objective in all situations is a must-have skill.
• Problem-solving skills: You’ll need to identify bad customer service, figure out what’s wrong, and find helpful solutions. Gabriel Dungan, CEO at ViscoSoft, looks for customer service manager resumes with keywords like “assisted customers,” “overcame (a challenge or issue),” and “resolved.”
• Product knowledge: As a customer service manager, people will ask you many questions about your company’s product and how it works. You can only help your customers and team members understand the product if you know it inside and out.
• Empathy: You must be able to put yourself in other people’s shoes and acknowledge their feelings. According to Dungan, empathy is important for successfully leading a team. “The advice that I’d give to an aspiring customer service manager is to learn empathy,” he says. “As a manager, you’ll be dealing with both customers and employees whose emotions are running high.”
• Organizational skills: In this role, customers and agents will pull you in many different directions on any given day. You’ll have to focus on the right things and direct your attention to the problems that most affect your customers and team.

Technical skills

You’ll use many support tools as a customer service manager to make your workflow faster and more efficient. You’ll need to understand how they work and how to leverage them to help your customers. You’ll also have to know how to use management and communication tools to serve your buyers better and work seamlessly with your team.

Make sure to mention if you have experience working with:

• Help desk tools like Zendesk
• Social listening tools like Sprout Social
• Email tools like Mailchimp
• Customer survey tools like SurveyMonkey
• Internal communication tools like Slack
• Video conferencing tools like Zoom

Industry certifications

Certifications help you improve your skills and make your resume stand out. They can also increase your chances of negotiating a higher salary in a new position and gaining greater responsibilities.

Consider obtaining the following certifications to set yourself apart from other candidates:

• Certified support manager certification: This is perfect for a customer service representative who wants to transition into a customer service management role. It teaches the technical skills and strategy needed to run a successful service team and provide great customer support.
• Customer experience certification: Discover practical ways to improve the overall customer experience. After completing the course, you’ll understand customer expectations and deliver better support.
• Help desk certification: Learn IT support best practices and how to use help desk tools. The course also allows you to refresh your knowledge of customer needs.

How to become a customer service manager

Many paths lead to becoming a customer service manager. Below are some steps you should follow to make your journey as smooth as possible.

• Get a relevant degree

  A bachelor’s degree is a common requirement for becoming a manager, and having one will help you stay competitive among other job seekers. Many colleges offer majors in customer service management, but it isn’t the only option. Broader degrees, like business administration and hospitality management, will also get your foot in the door.

• Gain experience as an agent

  There aren’t many companies that want to hire a manager who has no work experience in the field. Working as a customer service agent gives you first-hand knowledge of what your future subordinates go through daily. It will give you the empathy, insights, and skills needed to succeed as a customer service manager.

• Train on customer service software

  While working as a customer service agent, you’ll likely use customer service software to perform your duties. Learn the ins and outs of the platform to level up your department’s capabilities, like implementing customer experience software. Take online tutorials if there’s software your company doesn’t use that could be relevant at other companies.

• Exceed department goals and track positive feedback

  Demonstrate your ability to provide good customer service by exceeding expectations, like closing more tickets than is required. It’s difficult to measure the human aspect of the position by numbers alone, so it’s a good idea to keep track of the positive feedback you receive from customers.

  Whether you want to be promoted internally or move on to another company, upper management and hiring teams will want to see proven successes to back up your claims.

• Build your resume and apply for management roles

  Incorporate your new skills, certifications, and experience into your resume in a way that highlights why you’re the best candidate to lead a customer service department. When applying for jobs, consider the field you’d most like to work in, as it’ll influence your overall job satisfaction. For instance, if you’re passionate about constantly learning about new products or services, a position in the tech industry might be a good fit.

From service agent to customer support manager

Now that you know all the qualifications you need to transition into this challenging yet rewarding role, what’s next?

One way to advance into a customer service manager role is to enlist the help of your current manager. “Make it known to your current manager that you are interested in a management position, and ask for opportunities to learn the management side of things,” advises Rolf Bax, chief human resources officer at Resume.io.

Learning from an experienced professional will fast-track your progress and help you land the job of your dreams. Don’t forget to use self-guided learning on industry trends to ensure your organization delivers customer-oriented support.