Summary Report for:
41-1011.00 - First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Retail Sales Workers
Directly supervise sales workers in a retail establishment or department. Duties may include management functions, such as purchasing, budgeting, accounting, and personnel work, in addition to supervisory duties.
Sample of reported job titles:
Manager, Assistant Manager, Store Manager, Shift Manager, Office Manager, Retail Manager, Salesman, Supervisor
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Additional Information
Tasks
- 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.
back to top
Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Bar code reader equipment — Barcode scanners |
| Magnetic card readers — PC magnetic card readers |
| Point of sale credit or debit verification kits — Credit card processing terminals; Telecheck processing terminals |
| Point of sale POS terminal — Point of sale POS terminals |
| Security cameras — Security monitors |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Calendar and scheduling software — Qualitech Solutions Dynamic Scheduling; Scheduling software; TimeTrak Systems SchedTrak |
| Data base user interface and query software — Database software; Gift registry software |
| Human resources software — Exact software; Time card software |
| Point of sale POS software — CyberMatrix POS; ICVERIFY software; Plexis Software Plexis POS; Visual Retail Plus software |
| Time accounting software — Hagel Unitime Systems; Kronos Workforce Timekeeper; Lathem Time PayClock EZ; TimeTrak Systems ClocTrack |
back to top
Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge 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 Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
back to top
Skills
| Management of Personnel Resources — Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job. |
| Active Listening — Giving 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. |
| Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people. |
| Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| Instructing — Teaching others how to do something. |
| Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
back to top
Abilities
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Problem Sensitivity — The 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. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| Information Ordering — The 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). |
| Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem. |
back to top
Work Activities
| Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. |
| Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills. |
| Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks. |
| Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance. |
| Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. |
back to top
Work Context
| Frequency of Decision Making — How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization? |
| Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing? |
| Coordinate or Lead Others — How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job? |
| Responsibility for Outcomes and Results — How responsible is the worker for work outcomes and results of other workers? |
| Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
back to top
Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed |
| Overall Experience |
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty. |
| Job Training |
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers. |
| SVP Range |
(4.0 to < 6.0) |
| Education |
These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed. |
There is 1 recognized apprenticeable specialty associated with this occupation:
Manager, Retail Store
To learn about specific apprenticeship opportunities, please consult the U.S. Department of Labor State Apprenticeship Information
website.
For general information about apprenticeships, training, and partnerships with
business, visit the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship
website.
back to top
Interests
Interest code: ECS
| Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. |
| Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. |
| Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
back to top
Work Styles
| Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. |
| Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. |
back to top
Work Values
| Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
| Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. |
back to top
Related Occupations
back to top
Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2008) |
$16.97 hourly, $35,310 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
1,676,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Slower than average (3% to 6%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
423,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2008 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.
back to top
Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer:
Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries.
Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
- International Food Service Distributors Association (IFDA)
, 201 Park Washington Ct., Falls Church, VA 22046-4521. Phone: (703) 532-9400. Fax: (703) 538-4673.
- National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS)
, 1600 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Phone: (703) 684-3600.
- National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)
, Public Relations Dept., 8400 Westpark Dr., McLean, VA 22102-3591. Phone: (703) 821-7000.
- National Retail Federation (NRF)
, 325 7th St. NW., Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20004. Phone: (800) 673-4692. Fax: (202) 737-2849.
back to top
