Retail Shift Leader Job Description
A retail shift leader manages a team of sales employees. Retail shift leaders work in electronics stores, shoe stores, furniture stores and an array of other establishments. Along with overseeing a staff, retail shift leaders stock shelves, handle orders, hang promotional signs and make sure merchandise is properly displayed. They also monitor the cash register and count total sales at the end of each shift.
Other People Are Reading
-
Basics
-
Retail shift leaders handle a wide variety of tasks, all with the idea of generating sales. They greet customers and demonstrate how merchandise works, as well as answer questions and handle returns. On top of customer service, retail shift leaders must know their store’s products and services, as well as its overall mission and sales goals. They are also responsible for making sure employees stay motivated and work as a team, as well as following up on merchandise that’s been sold.
Skills
-
Retail shift leaders must be energetic and organized. They also need to possess leadership and outstanding communication skills, as they interact with everyone from customers to staff members to district managers. Along with that, retail shift managers should be dedicated, professional, personable and resilient in making sales. The majority will need to have strong grammar and basic math skills as well, as both are used frequently in the sales world.
-
Background
-
Requirements to become a retail shift leader vary by company. In most stores, the only thing that’s needed is a high school diploma and some experience working on the sales team. Some businesses, however, may require their sales leaders to have an associate degree, or even a bachelor’s degree. But most merely expect their shift leaders to have compiled a successful sales record while displaying a strong work ethic and passion for the merchandise.
Prospects
-
Retail shift leaders will be needed as long as there are retail stores. In other words, opportunities should be plentiful for years to come. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for sales worker supervisors will grow by about 5 percent through 2018. The BLS also reported that employment in the retail industry overall is expected to increase by 8 percent during the same decade.
Earnings
-
Oftentimes, retail shift leaders are paid via a base salary along with a commission, or a percentage of what is sold. So how much they earn is often a direct result of their performance. According to PayScale.com, retail sales managers earned anywhere from $31,000 to more than $58,000 per year in June 2010.
-
References
- Photo Credit friendly businessman image by Gina Smith from Fotolia.com
