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.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Instruct staff on how to handle difficult and complicated sales.

• Plan budgets and authorize payments and merchandise returns.

• Establish credit policies and operating procedures.

• Establish and implement policies, goals, objectives, and procedures for their department.

• Confer with company officials to develop methods and procedures to increase sales, expand markets, and promote business.

• Plan and coordinate advertising campaigns and sales promotions, and prepare merchandise displays and advertising copy.

• Perform work activities of subordinates, such as cleaning and organizing shelves and displays and selling merchandise.

• Review inventory and sales records to prepare reports for management and budget departments.

• Hire, train, and evaluate personnel in sales or marketing establishments, promoting or firing workers when appropriate.

• Examine products purchased for resale or received for storage to assess the condition of each product or item.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed

• 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.

• 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.

• Job training: Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees.

• 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)

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Knowledge

Browse 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.

• Sales and Marketing
  Knowledge 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 Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• Personnel and Human Resources
  Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Public Safety and Security
  Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• Mechanical
  Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

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Skills

Browse Skills

• Monitoring
  Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

• Instructing
  Teaching others how to do something.

• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• 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.

• Speaking
  Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Time Management
  Managing one's own time and the time of others.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Persuasion
  Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

• Social Perceptiveness
  Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

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Abilities

Browse 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.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• 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.

• 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.

• Speech Recognition
  The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Handling and Moving Objects
  Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• 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.

• Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
  Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

• Coaching and Developing Others
  Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.

• Performing General Physical Activities
  Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

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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?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• 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.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

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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.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

• Adaptability/Flexibility
  Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

• Leadership
  Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

• Cooperation
  Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• 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.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Authority
  Workers on this job give directions and instructions to others.

• Responsibility
  Workers on this job make decisions on their own.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Autonomy
  Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Activity
  Workers on this job are busy all the time.

• Creativity
  Workers on this job try out their own ideas.

• Recognition-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

• Variety
  Workers on this job have something different to do every day.

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