Missouri Occupation Brief Customer Service Careers

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1 cust Missouri Occupation Brief Customer Service Careers Customer Service occupations are in high demand across the state of Missouri. Occupations can range from sales to some administrative service jobs, such as receptionists and secretaries. Customer Service employees have high visibility and represent the company to the public. They are vital to the success of businesses. Virtually every firm has an employee in some type of customer service occupation and the skills developed in these jobs can have a lasting, positive impact on a person s career. Getting Started in Customer Service Top Employers Lowe's Companies Sears Macy's Target JC Penney Pilot Flying J Family Dollar Stores Pizza Hut AT&T McDonald's Several customer service jobs can be pursued with little or no training in most cases. Seven selected entry-level customer service occupations are Retail Salespersons, Cashiers, Customer Service Representatives, Hotel Desk Clerks, Receptionists, Food Preparation and Serving Workers, and Restaurant Hosts and Hostesses. Over 9 in 10 (93%) industries in Missouri employ nearly 300,000 people in these entry-level customer service occupations. Top Employing Industries for Occupations NAICS code NAICS Title 2013 Employment 722 Food Services and Drinking Places 74, General Merchandise Stores 32, Food and Beverage Stores 20, Gasoline Stations 18, Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores 14, Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers 12, Administrative and Support Services 10, Miscellaneous Store Retailers 9, Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, and Music Stores 7, Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers 7,665 Source: Occupational Employment Statistics

2 Customer Service is in Demand Current demand for these occupations is high. From March 1, 2014 February 28, 2015 there were 27,470 on-line job ads for selected entry-level customer service occupations, making up 9% of total job postings for the time period (Burning Glass Technologies*). Employment in these occupations is expected to grow over time. From the seven occupations are projected to have over 130,000 total openings from both growth and replacement jobs. Food Preparation Workers are projected to have the most openings, followed by Retail Salespersons and Cashiers. All seven occupations will create 14.4% of the projected total openings from Occupation Total Statewide Openings Entry Average Experienced Combined Food Preparation & Serving Workers 37,256 $16,811 $17,979 $18,562 Retail Salespersons 33,312 $16,908 $24,851 $28,822 Cashiers 31,096 $16,941 $19,572 $20,887 Customer Service Representatives 19,622 $20,106 $31,661 $37,438 Receptionists and Information Clerks 4,859 $19,071 $26,315 $29,937 Hosts and Hostesses 4,223 $16,799 $17,999 $18,135 Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks 2,555 $16,950 $20,098 $21,672 Source: Missouri Occupational Employment Statistics, MERIC Long-term projections, Because these are entry-level jobs, wages are lower than most occupations. Jobs pay below $20,000 for workers just starting out but with time that wage can grow. For experienced Customer Service Representatives average pay exceeds $37,000. However, the most important benefit of this field of work may be the soft skills developed while on the job. In surveys employers often note that job applicants lack strong soft skills, such as communication, needed for success in a given field. Customer service jobs put people together in work situations that require positive attitudes, diplomacy, negotiation, and team work. A tough day meeting a demanding client s needs is offset by the joy of seeing a customer you helped return with a smile. While people often move up the career pathway from these entry-level jobs, the skills acquired in Customer Service occupations can build a lasting foundation for career success.

3 Where are the Jobs Most job openings for entry-level customer service occupations are found in the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas, with smaller concentrations of employment found in the Central part of the state, as well as in the Southwest part of the state. This is in part due to the large concentration of population in the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas, and popular tourist attractions in the Ozark region. Technologies), March 1, 2014-Feburary 28, 2015

4 Customer Service s Soft s are highly valued in customer service occupations. Several soft skills, such as Customer Service, Communication, and Organization ranked in the top 10 basic skills requested by employers. Customer Service was found in over one-third (36%) of job postings. Sales experience was the top requested specialized skill, followed by Merchandising and Demonstration of Products. Basic math skills, such as cash handling, were also in the top requested specialized skills. Top 10 Basic s Customer Service 9,786 Communication s 6,537 Organizational s 4,143 Writing 3,264 English 2,376 Problem Solving 2,024 Computer s 1,940 Multi-Tasking 1,932 Detail-Oriented 1,859 Telephone s 1,510 Top 10 Software s Microsoft Excel 1,303 Microsoft Office 1,176 Microsoft Windows 940 Microsoft Word 440 Microsoft Powerpoint 249 Word Processing 205 Palm OS 139 Microsoft Outlook 100 SAP 99 Microsoft Operating Systems 61 Top 10 Specialized s Sales 7,330 Merchandising 2,188 Description and Demonstration of Products 2,149 Mathematics 2,003 Store Management 1,884 Cash Register Operation 1,574 Forklift Operation 1,487 Product Sale and Delivery 1,478 Payment Processing 1,349 Cash Handling 1,340 Technologies), Mar. 01, Feb. 28, 2015 Even at the entry-level there is a need for basic computer skills, in particular Microsoft products. Microsoft Excel was the top requested software skill, followed by Microsoft Office and Windows.

5 Customer Service Career Pathways Job seekers can progress into higher-level customer service jobs with additional experience and education. While sales jobs in particular have low pay in lower skilled occupations; by gaining experience and developing management skills workers can move up into higher-level customer service jobs with higher pay. The chart below lists some possible career pathways for customer service occupations. Workers who gain enough experience and education can move into advanced-level customer service jobs and upper management positions such as Sales Mangers and Lodging Managers. Cashiers $19,572 First-Line Super. of Retail Sales Workers $38,386 Sales Reprs., Tech. and Sci. Products $65,849 Retail Salespersons $24,851 Office and Admin. First-Line Supervisors $49,216 First-Line Super. of Non-Retail Sales Workers $68,261 Customer Service Representatives $31,661 Other Services Sales Representatives $53,079 Sales Managers $108,623 Wholesale and Retail Buyers $56,957 Sales Representatives, Wholesale/Mfg. $60,638 Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks $20,098 Medical Secretaries $30,801 Lodging Managers $48,639 Receptionists and Information Clerks $26,315 Bookkeeping and Accounting Clerks $35,092 Administrative Service Managers $74,631 Legal Secretaries $42,409 Executive Adm. Assistants $45,267 Office and Admin. First-Line Supervisors $49,216 Food Preparation/Serving Workers $17,979 First-Line Supervisors Food Prep./Serving $28,476 Food Service Managers $46,773 Hosts and Hostesses $17,999 Chefs and Head Cooks $43,248 Source: Missouri Occupational Employment Statistics, 2013 Sales and Customer Services Information and Support Services Restaurants and Food Services While many advanced level customer service occupations such as Sales Representatives of Technical and Scientific Products typically require a Bachelor s degree, some do not. Burning Glass analysis shows that 61% percent of Food Service Manager job postings only required a high school diploma. Thirty-six percent of job postings for Lodging Mangers and 30% of job postings for First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers over the 12 month period only required a high school diploma. With a large current and projected demand for entry-level occupations and the opportunity to advance to higher-level occupations, customer service would be a good choice to someone starting on their career path. *Data for this analysis has been extracted using Burning Glass Technologies Labor/Insight tm tool which collects information from over 38,000 web sources, including job boards, newspapers, and employer websites. Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) uses this data to compile and publish reports for the State and Labor Market Regions. While this analysis presents a broad picture of hiring activity and serves as a measure of labor demand, it does not capture openings that are filled through other networks