Hiring Store Managers
A store manager is responsible for the general management of a retail store, whether it is a stand-alone retail establishment or one in a chain of thousands. Regardless of the size of the parent company, a store manager's primary objective is to drive business by ensuring that the store's operations run smoothly. The manager leads from the front, maximizing store profits by reviewing sales performance, controlling expenses, and optimizing available inventory. They achieve business goals by ensuring a return on investment, scheduling expenses, analyzing variances, and initiating corrective actions. In busy stores, store managers have adequate opportunities to drive and generate revenue. Given the nature of their duties, a store manager draws an average base salary starting at $44,047 per year along with an average cash bonus of $7,500 and a commission package of $12,000. The total compensation is quite competitive and increases as they gain expertise and experience. Retail managers work their way through the store hierarchy, and can be promoted to the position of an area manager when they have earned the right to these responsibilities.
Requirements of a store manager
A substantial part of a retail store manager's job role is to manage customers, identify current and future buyer requirements, and maintain the look and feel of the store and overall store cleanliness. They should be adept at developing ideas and strategies to understand service requirements and ensure that operations within the store are in accordance with proper compliances and standards that are set by the management. The store manager's duties include recruiting, supervising, and training assistant store employees. They are in charge of organizing staff rotations and leaves and conducting performance evaluations. Besides the general tasks, store managers oversee internal audit and control, are instrumental in the development and maintenance of operations/loss prevention programs, and support all risk management strategies and functions. They should also develop brand recognition in local areas by building relationships within and outside of the store.
Assessing candidates
While most hiring managers do not look for their store managers to have a specific educational background, some prefer candidates that have a degree. They should be able to improve customer satisfaction, meet sales and profitability goals, and steer the staff effectively. The best store managers have many years of experience in retail, a strong ability to lead, with excellent attention to detail skills. Also, the candidate should be highly organized and excellent at time management. Ability to remain calm under pressure, have strong communication skills when dealing with customers and staff, and being able to encourage a collaborative environment are some of the skillsets the hiring manager should look for in a store manager. Moreover, the candidate should be adept at problem-solving, and have the ability to resolve conflict and deal with unexpected issues with ease.
