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The differences between customer service team leads and customer care associates 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 service team lead and a customer care associate. Additionally, a customer service team lead has an average salary of $36,623, which is higher than the $33,115 average annual salary of a customer care associate.
The top three skills for a customer service team lead include HR, inbound calls and product knowledge. The most important skills for a customer care associate are customer care, patients, and customer service.
| Customer Service Team Lead | Customer Care Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $36,623 | $33,115 |
| Hourly rate | $17.61 | $15.92 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 249,105 | 250,296 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
A customer care associate's role focuses on providing customer support and service, ensuring optimal services and client satisfaction. Their responsibilities typically revolve around assisting walk-in customers by answering inquiries, offering recommendations or alternatives, and informing them of any promos or discounts. It is essential to devise strategies to identify customer needs, providing them as needed. Furthermore, a customer care associate may answer inquiries made through calls or correspondence, make reservations, handle complaints or concerns, and resolve them according to the company's policies and regulations.
Customer service team leads and customer care associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Team Lead | Customer Care Associate | |
| Average salary | $36,623 | $33,115 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $47,000 | Between $24,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Baltimore, MD | San Diego, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | Santander Bank | Centennial Bank |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a customer service team lead and a customer care associate in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Team Lead | Customer Care Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service team leads' and customer care associates' demographics:
| Customer Service Team Lead | Customer Care Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8% | Male, 30.1% Female, 69.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 6.7% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |