What are the Duties of the Average Store Manager?

If you own any kind of retail operation, whether it be a clothing store, vape store, or gift shop, you need someone to manage the day-to-operations. Without someone calling the shots and running the show, your operation could become aimless, and you won’t be nearly as successful as you could be. 

In this blog, we examine the average duties of a store manager so that you can develop a great employee that will help take your business to the next level. 

What is a store manager?

A store manager is exactly what it sounds like: someone who manages your store. The store manager is usually the middle man between employees and corporate or the owners. A store manager makes sure that the location and the employees they manage are performing at the highest possible level. They are ultimately responsible for everything that happens in their store.

What is a store manager responsible for?

A store manager can be responsible for any number of things. These are the most common responsibilities store managers are tasked with. 

Supervision

It’s usually the responsibility of a store manager to supervise those employees underneath her or him. They are usually responsible for ensuring that all employees do their tasks correctly. They are also responsible for providing any support and motivation needed so that employees can, indeed work productively. Supervision often means identifying areas where employees can improve and helping them to gain new knowledge and skills so they can perform better. 

Sometimes, usually in large stores, a store manager won’t supervise all employees directly but will delegate that responsibility to team leaders. This way, supervision can become much more manageable. 

Ordering

Most store managers manage stores that sell merchandise of some kind. It’s usually up to the store manager to ensure that this merchandise exists in levels in the store that will meet demand while not stressing storage capacity too much. 

There can often be an art to ordering. A store manager must not only identify which items are popular and which are not, but ensure there is a good inventory turnover ratio, and attempt to predict future demand for certain products over others. This can be tricky especially if the store sells items that are determined by seasonality, like food or clothing. 

Scheduling

Usually, store managers are responsible for setting the shift rotas for their store, ensuring that all shifts are being filled by employees that have the time and availability to do so. 

Managing scheduling tasks means getting to know your employees and what they have going on in their lives. You may need to schedule around things like college or university classes, childcare responsibilities, medical appointments, and more. 

Conflict resolution

Managing people will inevitably mean managing conflict. Whether it’s between two employees, two customers, or a customer and an employee, conflict resolution is one of the most essential skills a store manager can have. 

You may need to mediate disagreements between employees and try to find some kind of compromise that will work for all parties. You will also be responsible for dealing with complaints, whether from employees or customers, and responding appropriately. 

Reporting and communicating with management

A store manager is responsible for everything that goes on in their store. That includes reducing costs, and reporting activities to the corporate office or the owners. Store managers usually track KPIs like sales in order to ensure that the store is performing to the standards set by those above. Reports let corporate or owners know how well that location is performing. 

As the middle man between the employees and a corporate office, the store manager will often be responsible for implementing store policies and ensuring that employees follow them to the best of their abilities. 

Meeting targets

Most stores will have targets to meet. These targets are usually set by the owners of the store or by the corporate office. Since store performance is the responsibility of a store manager, it also falls on them to ensure that these targets are met. 

These targets can include a range of things, including sales, foot traffic, discounts given out, items moved, loyalty programs signed up, and more. Store managers are responsible for organizing and marshalling the store’s resources to meet these targets.

Customer service

While most customer service activities can be dealt with by your average employee, store managers may be called upon to resolve certain customers service issues and requests. Store managers have more authority and knowledge than regular employees, and so are able to meet needs that they can’t. 

Store managers are often called upon to resolve tricky requests like large refunds or immediate customer complaints. 

Compliance

As the direct link between the store and corporate, a store manager has to ensure that all company policies are adhered to by employees. Most companies have a set of rules and guidelines that inform everything that happens in a store, from how employees must dress to display techniques to quality concerns. A store manager must ensure that all these rules are met and followed in order to the store.

This might mean checking that stock and displays are arranged in a predetermined format, that employees are wearing appropriate uniforms according to code, or that employees are consistently marketing products by suggestive selling and promoting add-ons and discounts. 

Task delegation

In every store, there are a variety of tasks that need to be done every day. Some are routine and others are new. It’s usually up to the store manager to identify tasks that need to be done and delegating them to the appropriate employees.

In delegating tasks, managers need to identify the correct person for each job. This means knowing your employees’ knowledge and skills so you can marshall them for the tasks they’re good at. For instance, if one of your workers has experience in marketing, you may want to employ them to help implement some guerilla marketing campaigns. 

Team training, support, and motivation

As a store manager, you’re in charge of making sure that your employees are ready, willing, and able to meet the demands of your store. That means preparing them for everything they may encounter during their working day, from irate customers to stock shortages. 

You’ll likely be in charge of finding employees, training them in all the knowledge and skills they need to do their jobs, and motivate them every day to perform as best they can. 

Manage all store operations from your POS

Managing a store is a tough job, and it can trip up the most resourceful and responsible people at the best of times. It helps to have every possible tool at your disposal to ensure that you’re getting everything out of your store that you possibly can.

With an Epos Now Retail POS system, you can manage your entire store right from your till. With hundreds of apps to choose from, a versatile software system, and seamless payment integrations, managing your store has never been easier. 

• Onboard and train staff in minutes​
• Track margin data to identify your most profitable products​
• Save hours of time with automated, real-time stock counts​
• Track single item performance so you can forecast with accuracy
• Receive stock alerts so you never miss a selling opportunity
• Easily add, edit and bundle items to create new revenue opportunities
• Create automatic purchase orders so you never run out of stock

Contact Epos Now to find out more about our POS systems