Area supervisor vs department lead

The differences between area supervisors and department leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an area supervisor and a department lead. Additionally, a department lead has an average salary of $42,113, which is higher than the $40,965 average annual salary of an area supervisor.

The top three skills for an area supervisor include ladders, cleanliness and sales floor. The most important skills for a department lead are cleanliness, safety procedures, and customer service.

Area supervisor vs department lead overview

	Area Supervisor	Department Lead
Yearly salary	$40,965	$42,113
Hourly rate	$19.69	$20.25
Growth rate	6%	-
Number of jobs	106,356	204,534
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	6	6

What does an area supervisor do?

An area supervisor opens and closes the store, maintains a comfortable and friendly shop environment, and supervises associates. Area supervisors are responsible for keeping track of daily operations in the business. They are in charge of the maintenance, production, and other work performed in certain areas. Their responsibilities include the recruitment and training of staff, solving customer issues, updating records, and completing other tasks assigned by directors. It is also their responsibility to schedule the work hours of employees.

What does a department lead do?

A department lead's responsibilities will vary in an organization or company. It will, most of the time, revolve around overseeing the progress of work in a particular area and evaluating department staff's performance. Other responsibilities include setting goals and implementing the company's policies and guidelines. They may also carry out administrative tasks such as approving and signing paperwork, producing reports and presentations, and crafting guidelines and strategies to help reach goals. Furthermore, as a department head, it is important to encourage staff and shape them into valuable company members.

Area supervisor vs department lead salary

Area supervisors and department leads have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Area Supervisor	Department Lead
Average salary	$40,965	$42,113
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $61,000	Between $22,000 And $79,000
Highest paying City	Lancaster, PA	New Haven, CT
Highest paying state	Alaska	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Tesla	Tufts Medical Center
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Manufacturing

Differences between area supervisor and department lead education

There are a few differences between an area supervisor and a department lead in terms of educational background:

	Area Supervisor	Department Lead
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Area supervisor vs department lead demographics

Here are the differences between area supervisors' and department leads' demographics:

	Area Supervisor	Department Lead
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 58.4% Female, 41.6%	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 6.9% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between area supervisor and department lead duties and responsibilities

Area supervisor example responsibilities.

Promote from associate to manage several departments including jewelry, housewares, automotive and electronics.
Demonstrate resourcefulness and imagination when managing professional responsibilities.
Schedule and lead safety meetings par OSHA regulations.
Train new and current employees run reports and stats for upper management.
Handle work flow, assign tasks, train new associates, run administrative machines.
Review laboratory documents and test paperwork to ensure the information is accurate and GMP compliant.

Department lead example responsibilities.

Implement inventory management system to effectively manage on-hands, assist with correct replenishment and maintain an acceptable level of over-stock.
Operate POS system, and receive payment by cash, check, credit cards, vouchers, or automatic debit.
Oversee the completion of all POS transactions, maintain cash office records and assistant in training of all new cashiers.
Conduct geotechnical and geological investigations and mineral resource evaluations for commercial, industrial and governmental clients using the above-mentioned drilling techniques.
Develop unique SQL, cloudbase, and ADHOC telephony query techniques resulting in the identification of previously undiscovered nefarious networks.

Area supervisor vs department lead skills

Common area supervisor skills

Ladders, 17%
Cleanliness, 16%
Sales Floor, 15%
Front End, 13%
Loss Prevention, 10%
Bank Deposits, 9%

Common department lead skills

Cleanliness, 12%
Safety Procedures, 11%
Customer Service, 10%
Store Management, 8%
Inventory Management, 7%
Sales Floor, 6%

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Area Supervisor
Area Supervisor vs Department Lead

Updated January 8, 2025

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