Retail team leaders are a critical support to managers, delivering exceptional customer service and a positive experience to customers, and may have to deputise for managers in their absence. The role is dynamic and in one day can involve a variety of different functions. Most significantly retail team leaders guide and coordinate the work of the team to complete tasks, identify and explore opportunities that drive sales, ensuring team members maintain business standards in relation to merchandising, service and promotional activities, in line with procedures. Retail team leaders gain the most of their team on a day to day basis, ensuring they are fully trained and work effectively and to the best of their ability.
Duration: 12 months minimum
What You Will Study
Knowledge and Understanding (Know it), Skills (Show it), Behaviours (Live it)
- Customer: Understand the customer profile of the business, their purchasing habits across a retail calendar year and how to meet and exceed their needs. Know the best ways to drive the team to increase sales, secure customer loyalty and attain business targets.
- Business: Understand the purpose of the business including its vision, objectives and brand / business standards, how they compare to its competitors and how own role, and the team, help to achieve them.
- Financial: Understand how own actions and those of the team can contribute to the overall financial performance of the business by increasing sales e.g. through product positioning, and minimising costs through effective stock control and prevention of theft
- Leadership: Understand how to organise the team on a daily basis to achieve objectives, and recognise the importance of contingency planning to meet business requirements; know limits of authority when deputising for line manager
- Marketing: Understand how the brand / business is positioned externally, particularly in relation to local and online competitors and how its products / services meet consumer trends. Understand how own actions, and those of the team can impact on customers’ perception of the brand / business
- Communication: Understand how to support effective communication, quickly determining the situation and needs of individuals and how to respond in the most appropriate way using a variety of techniques and methods, for example face to face and / or remotely to include on-line
- Sales and Promotion: Understand the factors which can determine and affect sales and promotions throughout the retail year and how to coordinate and implement them to support business objectives
- Product and Service: Know and promote the features and benefits of products / services, their unique selling points, the skills required to sell them, where items fit into product ranges, associated products and services, where to find detailed information if required and other relevant information such as delivery lead time, accessibility and source
- Merchandising: Know methods of merchandising throughout the retail operation, including point of sale, the retail calendar and local needs e.g. geographical, topical or weather based
- Stock: Understand the principles of stock control from sourcing to sale / supply. Understand the management of stock levels, security, restrictions (e.g. age restricted products), wastage and effective systems for recording them
- Technology: Understand how current and emerging technologies support retail operations and sales whether customer facing or remote, and how best to operate them to achieve an efficient and effective service
- Developing self and others: Understand the knowledge, skills and behaviours required of self and others to develop a high performing team in the business. Understand team dynamics and the importance of enabling team members to appreciate their role in the wider organisation and in meeting business objectives
- Team performance: Know how to identify and develop excellent team performance. Understand how the performance of the team contributes to the overall success of the business
- Legal and governance: Understand the importance of business compliance to legal requirements and supporting the team to operate in line with business policy and procedures
- Diversity: Understand how to work with and support people from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures and the business policy on diversity
How You Will be Taught
Employers will set their own entry requirements, but it is expected that the individual would have worked with an operational role within the industry to start on this apprenticeship standard.
The apprentice will be assessed to the apprenticeship standard using three complementary assessment methods. The assessment is synoptic, i.e. takes a view of the overall performance of the apprentice in their job.
What Can I Do Once I Have Completed the Course?
Progression from this apprenticeship could be into a junior retail management position.