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First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers Occupation Detailed Description

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers career

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

The main tasks and work activities of First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers are to answer customer questions about goods or services, greet customers, patrons, or visitors, monitor sales activities, assign duties or work schedules to employees. In general, for the First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers, active Listening, speaking, service Orientation, coordination and other 17 skills are required.
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers Job Description
EducationThese occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Related ExperienceSome previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Job TrainingEmployees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
ExampleThese occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, and tellers.
The following chart shows the education/training levels for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers jobs. 51.67% of First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers have High School Diploma (or the equivalent) and 8.92% of First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers have Post-Secondary Certificate.
Less than a High School Diploma
14.08%
High School Diploma (or the equivalent)
51.67%
Post-Secondary Certificate
8.92%
Some College Courses
6.05%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
18.86%
Bachelor's Degree and Above
0.42%

Tasks and Work Activities of First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

  • Provide customer service by greeting and assisting customers and responding to customer inquiries and complaints.
  • Monitor sales activities to ensure that customers receive satisfactory service and quality goods.
  • Assign employees to specific duties.
  • Direct and supervise employees engaged in sales, inventory-taking, reconciling cash receipts, or in performing services for customers.
  • Inventory stock and reorder when inventory drops to a specified level.
  • Keep records of purchases, sales, and requisitions.
  • Enforce safety, health, and security rules.
  • Examine products purchased for resale or received for storage to assess the condition of each product or item.
  • Hire, train, and evaluate personnel in sales or marketing establishments, promoting or firing workers when appropriate.
  • Perform work activities of subordinates, such as cleaning and organizing shelves and displays and selling merchandise.
  • Establish and implement policies, goals, objectives, and procedures for the department.
  • Instruct staff on how to handle difficult and complicated sales.
  • Formulate pricing policies for merchandise, according to profitability requirements.
  • Estimate consumer demand and determine the types and amounts of goods to be sold.
  • Examine merchandise to ensure that it is correctly priced and displayed and that it functions as advertised.
  • Plan and prepare work schedules and keep records of employees' work schedules and time cards.
  • Review inventory and sales records to prepare reports for management and budget departments.
  • Plan and coordinate advertising campaigns and sales promotions and prepare merchandise displays and advertising copy.
  • Confer with company officials to develop methods and procedures to increase sales, expand markets, and promote business.
  • Establish credit policies and operating procedures.
  • Training and Teaching OthersIdentifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the PublicPerforming for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
  • Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with OthersHandling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
  • Coaching and Developing OthersIdentifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Coordinating the Work and Activities of OthersGetting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and EventsIdentifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Answer customer questions about goods or services.
  • Greet customers, patrons, or visitors.
  • Monitor sales activities.
  • Assign duties or work schedules to employees.
  • Supervise sales or support personnel.
  • Monitor inventories of products or materials.
  • Purchase stocks of merchandise or supplies.
  • Maintain records of sales or other business transactions.
  • Monitor work areas to provide security.
  • Examine condition of property or products.
  • Train sales personnel.
  • Sell products or services.
  • Set up merchandise displays.
  • Clean work areas.
  • Establish operational policies.
  • Monitor market conditions or trends.
  • Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
  • Coordinate sales campaigns.
  • Develop marketing plans or strategies.

Skills and Abilities for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

  • Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
  • CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
  • NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • Management of Personnel ResourcesMotivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
  • Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Adjustable widemouth plierse.g. Adjustable widemouth pliers
  • Adjustable wrenchese.g. Adjustable wrenches
  • Bar code reader equipmente.g. Barcode scanners
  • Cash registerse.g. Cash registers
  • Magnetic stripe readers and encoderse.g. Credit card processing machines
  • Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
  • Adjustable widemouth plierse.g. Hammer pliers
  • Ladderse.g. Ladders
  • Laser fax machinee.g. Laser facsimile machines
  • Laser printerse.g. Laser printers
  • Magnetic stripe readers and encoderse.g. Magnetic card readers
  • Electronic funds transfer point of sale equipmente.g. Money order terminals
  • Magnetic stripe readers and encoderse.g. PC magnetic card readers
  • Personal computerse.g. Personal computers
  • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizerse.g. Personal digital assistants PDA
  • Point of sale POS terminale.g. Point of sale POS computer terminals
  • Screwdriverse.g. Screwdrivers
  • Security camerase.g. Security cameras
  • Security camerase.g. Security monitors
  • Security tagse.g. Sensormatic systems
  • Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Sales and MarketingKnowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  • English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Education and TrainingKnowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Personnel and Human ResourcesKnowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
  • MathematicsKnowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Computers and ElectronicsKnowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Economics and AccountingKnowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  • ClericalKnowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.