Store manager
A store manager is the person ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations (or management) of a retail store or supermarket. All employees working in the store report to the store manager. A store manager typically reports to a district or area manager, but in smaller businesses, may report directly to the store's owner. In some stores (typically big box retailers), a Store Manager may be called a General Manager or Store Director.
Roles and responsibilities
Responsibilities of a store manager may include:
- Human Resources, specifically: recruiting, hiring, training and development, performance management, payroll, and schedule workplace scheduling;
- Store business operations, including managing profit and loss, facility management, safety and security, loss prevention (also called shrinkage), and banking;
- Product management, including ordering, receiving, price changes, and handling damaged products.
Sales generation
The store manager may be required to meet monthly, quarterly, or annual sales goals, depending on the company's fiscal cycle. This may be achieved by setting individual sales goals (quotas), holding contests for employees, or offering sales promotions. He or she may also receive a monetary incentive (or "bonus") tied to the financial performance of the store over a specific time period. This incentive may be based on net sales, profitability, or both. Thus, the store manager may be forced to reduce payroll expenditures by decreasing employees' hours, or otherwise reducing costs associated with operating the business.
Customer service
The store manager has the final say in matters of customer service. He or she receives unsolicited feedback from customers, and may be asked to intervene in confrontations between customers and employees. The store manager may also make exceptions to store policies, but in most cases is required to enforce policies set by the company that owns the store. Through effective training, managers can defer to employees' best judgment in handling customer service situations.
Safety and security
The store manager is the primary keyholder of the store and may be called to the store before, during, or after business hours in the event of an emergency. He or she is also responsible for the safety of all customers and employees on store premises. Store managers may be required to hold safety meetings, especially as dictated by union practices in cases where store employees belong to a union.
Division of responsibility
A store manager may have several subordinates within the hierarchy of the store to whom he or she can delegate management-level responsibility. These employees are sometimes called assistant managers, supervisors, keyholders, shift leads or leads.
Hiring, training and development
The store manager is responsible for the hiring, training, and in some cases, the development, of employees. The manager must ensure that adequate staffing levels exist in order to effectively operate the store, and ensure that employees receive the training necessary for employees to perform their job responsibilities independently. Managers are sometimes responsible for developing their employees so that the company can promote employees from within and develop future leaders, potentially for employment at other locations.
Visual merchandising and inventory control
In retail locations, store managers are responsible for visual merchandising. Many companies communicate how to merchandise their stores using direction such as planograms to indicate product placement. While managers have a varying degree of autonomy in deviating from corporate direction, it is important to ensure that stores are compliant with the company's brand image. Managers must ensure that the proper amount of inventory is displayed for customers to purchase, by ensuring that shelves and racks remain stocked and that product is frequently rotated out of storage areas. Managers are also concerned with shrinkage, and must ensure that merchandising techniques and customer service skills minimize the possibility of product being stolen.