11 Customer Service Team Lead Skills To Include on a Resume
Updated January 31, 2023
What does a customer service team lead do?
A customer service team lead's responsibilities may depend on their organization and industry, but here are some tasks many of these professionals perform:- Training new customer service team members
- Using customer relationship management software (CRM) to document customer interactions
- Monitoring average call length and overall team volume
- Listening to individual calls to ensure quality
- Leading performance reviews for team members
- Creating intervention and improvement plans for team members
- Creating reports for the director of customer services
- Suggesting new procedures to improve customer service
- Resolving escalated customer issues
- Motivating customer service team to meet goals
Soft skills vs. hard skills in customer service
Many customer service team leads use both hard and soft skills in their daily work. Hard skills are abilities you can develop from work experience in customer service, like computer skills and industry knowledge.Soft skills are personality traits that can carry over to many industries and positions, like communications skills and adaptability. Including a combination of hard and soft skills on your resume can show a hiring manager that you have the skills and experience to be successful in their industry and that you have effective work habits.Related: Hard Skills vs. Soft SkillsPrepare for interviews with practice questions and tips
11 customer service skills for team leads
Customer service team leads typically use both customer service and leadership skills in their daily work. Here are 11 key skills to include in your resume:1. Communication skills
Customer service team leads often communicate with a wide range of people, including customer service team members, managers and directors and clients. They may use skills like active listening, empathy and asking clarifying questions to resolve client issues that their team members have escalated to them.They may also use their communication skills to lead performance reviews for team members and implement improvement plans. Emphasizing your communication skills in your customer service team lead resume can show a hiring manager you are approachable and able to connect with team members and others.Related: Customer Service Skills: Definitions and 17 Examples2. Patience
Developing patience can help a customer service team lead work productively with their team members and customers. They may exercise patience while training new team members in the organization's policies, customer service procedures and CRM software. During customer calls, patience can help a customer service team lead develop an effective solution to a customer issue. You can emphasize your patience in the summary part of your resume, where you describe the qualifications that make you a strong candidate for the position.Related: A Complete Resume Summary Guide (40+ Examples)3. Collaboration skills
Because customer service team leads work on a team with other representatives, they often model collaboration skills, like open-mindedness and flexibility, to encourage their colleagues to work together. They may also work closely with team leads in other departments, like operations or inside sales, to create procedures that improve customer experience and increase referrals. The ability to work on a team is important to many hiring managers, particularly for customer service positions, so you might include that skill on your resume to boost your hiring potential.4. Industry knowledge
While many customer service lead skills can apply to many industries, you might find it helpful to show the hiring manager that you have experience with the product or service that their company offers. For example, if you're applying for a position as a customer service team lead for a medical insurance company, you might highlight any experience you have in the health care industry. Displaying related industry experience on a resume can show a hiring manager you can bring your existing knowledge to the job and enhance their organization's customer service procedures.5. Computer skills
A foundation in basic computer skills can give you an advantage in the hiring process by displaying your ability to learn new programs quickly. Customer service team leads might use email, video chat programs and other communication technology to speak with customers and teammates. They may also use CRM software to document interactions with customers, manage team member workloads or create reports. You can list your computer proficiencies on your resume in the skills section.Read more: Basic Computer Skills: Definition and Examples6. Time-management skills
Displaying time-management skills on your resume may show a hiring manager you can improve their team's efficiency and results. Using their time-management skills and experience in customer service, a customer service team lead might determine the ideal time to spend on a single customer ticket and train their team to improve their efficiency. They might also use their skills to manage their own time effectively, ensuring they spend an appropriate amount of time on team trainings, client calls and data analysis each day.7. Prioritization
Prioritization skills can help a customer service team lead to complete a range of tasks in an effective order, which can improve customer responses and team productivity. They may use their skills to decide which escalated customer issue to handle first or how to schedule performance reviews.They can also model prioritization to help their team members learn which tasks require quicker resolutions than others. Including this skill on your resume can show a hiring manager you know how to handle the many duties of a leadership position.8. Problem-solving skills
Problem-solving skills allow a customer service team lead to improve their team's performance, which can help the company grow their referral rate and encourage customers to return for their next service or product. Customer service team leads might use their problem-solving skills to design improvement programs for individual team members. They may also create new procedures to resolve client issues or improve the speed at which their team members handle service tickets.Related: 10 Effective Leadership Skills To Lead a Team9. Adaptability
Including adaptability in the summary or skills section of your resume can convince a hiring manager that you might be a good fit for a leadership role in a fast-paced company. While adaptability can be a valuable skill across many industries, it may be especially helpful in technology or health care companies, where the products and services change often. Customer service team leads may use adaptability to adjust to new types of customers or new organizational procedures. They may also use their adaptive skills to change their communication or training techniques based on the needs of their team.10. Organization
Customer service team leads might use their organizational skills to track team members' development, maintain records of calls and customer contacts and compile information for department reports. These skills can also help them lead projects to create internal process documentation or improve procedures. Describing your organizational skills or achievements on your resume can show your ability to manage people and multitask in a fast-paced customer service environment.11. Training skills
Listing your training experience and skills on your resume can show a hiring manager you can help the customer service team develop and improve their professional skills. Customer service team leads might determine which topics to cover with new customer service representatives in their initial training or develop a schedule of professional development topics for the entire team. They may also create training material based on team needs and company-wide goals and assess their team's understanding of the training materials through quizzes or other activities.We’re breaking down the basics of customer service. Whether you’re a novice customer service rep or you’ve been in the field for years, you’ll be solving problems and wowing your manager in no time.
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