Retail Team Leader

On a retail team leader apprenticeship course, you’ll help guide and coordinate staff, their work and sales within a retail environment.

A retail team leader assists managers by delivering excellent customer service and a pleasant client experience and may be called upon to deputise for managers while they are absent.

As a retail team leader, you will be responsible for various duties. Most significantly, you will lead and organise the team’s work to complete assignments, identify and explore sales-boosting opportunities, and ensure team members conform to corporate standards in merchandising service and promotional activities.

You’ll try to get the most out of your team every day, ensuring they’re properly trained and working to their full potential.

What you’ll learn

On a retail team leader apprenticeship course, you’ll learn to:

• Monitor customer queries and service requirements; educate and support team members in utilising appropriate methods, such as face-to-face or remote, such as online facilities, to offer consistent and exceptional service that provides customers with a positive experience.
• Supervise the sections of the firm that have an impact on financial performance in line with business procedures.
• Use available information to organise collaboration so that the right people and resources are in the right place at the right time to ensure consistent brand/business standards are fulfilled. Within the extent of your authority, deputise for the line manager.
• Assist the team in comprehending and engaging in the company’s marketing activities and objectives and ensuring that customers have the best experience possible.
• Communicate and support the team’s sales objectives, recognising and acting on opportunities to maximise revenue, such as link selling and drawing customers’ attention to special offers.
• Ensure that the team replenishes and maintains merchandising in line with company needs, the retail calendar, and local demands, such as regional, topical, or weather-based needs.
• Ensure that the team adheres to stock procedures to minimise stock damage or loss, maximise revenue, comply with legal requirements, and take appropriate action to sell stock that is approaching the end of its product, promotional, or shelf life.
• Oversee the correct use of technology in line with business strategy and the development of appropriate procedures for dealing with service issues.
• Plan, organise priorities, and oversee one’s and team members’ activities, helping with their introduction, training, development, and coaching, and allocating tasks fairly and correctly to accomplish corporate objectives.
• Daily, guide the team by setting objectives and assessing progress toward them. Provide coaching and on-the-job training to team members to motivate them. 
• Identify team disagreements and attempt to resolve them with the assistance of others.
• Ensure that you and your team always comply with legal requirements, that identified risks are dealt with quickly and in line with business procedures, and that they are communicated to the management team’s appropriate member(s).
• Ensure that team members understand and follow the company’s diversity policy. As required, make necessary adjustments for customers or team members.

Entry requirements

You’ll usually need:

• Experience in an operational role within the industry.
• Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this before taking the end-point assessment.

Assessment methods

The End Point Assessment comprises three distinct assessment methods: 

• On-demand test
• Retail business project
• Professional discussion

Duration, level, subjects and potential salary upon completion

Apprenticeship standard

More information about the Level 3 Retail Team Leader Apprenticeship standard can be found here.

Apprenticeship end point assessment

For more information about the End Point Assessment Process, please read the Institute of Apprenticeships’ information page.