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The differences between customer relations associates and customer service team leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a customer relations associate and a customer service team lead. Additionally, a customer service team lead has an average salary of $36,623, which is higher than the $35,656 average annual salary of a customer relations associate.
The top three skills for a customer relations associate include customer relations, processing orders and problem resolution. The most important skills for a customer service team lead are HR, inbound calls, and product knowledge.
| Customer Relations Associate | Customer Service Team Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $35,656 | $36,623 |
| Hourly rate | $17.14 | $17.61 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 187,813 | 249,105 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A Customer Relations Associate is primarily in charge of assisting clients by answering inquiries, troubleshooting problems, and promptly and efficiently resolving issues to ensure client satisfaction. They typically communicate with clients through calls, correspondence, or even through appointments. There are also instances where they may refer them to other specialists, offer products and services, discuss product specifications, arrange payment plans, and negotiate contracts, building positive relationships along the way. Moreover, a customer relations associate maintains records of all transactions, reporting to managers regularly.
A customer service team lead is responsible for managing a group of customer service agents. They monitor their tasks and productivity and report the team's performance to senior management. A customer service team lead provides coaching opportunities for the agents, identifies their challenges, and creates strategic procedures for them. Customer service team leads also respond to customers' inquiries, resolve high-level complaints immediately, and maintain the highest customer satisfaction to build the company's good reputation, generate revenues, and increase profitability.
Customer relations associates and customer service team leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Relations Associate | Customer Service Team Lead | |
| Average salary | $35,656 | $36,623 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $47,000 | Between $28,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Baltimore, MD |
| Highest paying state | - | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | - | Santander Bank |
| Best paying industry | - | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a customer relations associate and a customer service team lead in terms of educational background:
| Customer Relations Associate | Customer Service Team Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer relations associates' and customer service team leads' demographics:
| Customer Relations Associate | Customer Service Team Lead | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6% | Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |