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Associate manager vs supervisor

The differences between associate managers and supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an associate manager, becoming a supervisor takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an associate manager has an average salary of $83,246, which is higher than the $53,902 average annual salary of a supervisor.

The top three skills for an associate manager include PET, POS and sales floor. The most important skills for a supervisor are customer service, safety procedures, and sales floor.

Associate manager vs supervisor overview

Associate ManagerSupervisor
Yearly salary$83,246$53,902
Hourly rate$40.02$25.91
Growth rate6%-
Number of jobs420,292224,920
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age4446
Years of experience62

What does an associate manager do?

Associate managers are responsible for overseeing the support and clerical staff of the company. They recruit and train employees who perform different tasks that include greeting customers, answering phones, and faxing documents. They also perform other duties, including keeping employees' motivation, ensuring that everyone understands the company's guidelines and policies, and supervising other staff members. To be qualified as an associate manager, one should have a high school diploma, leadership skills, and a strong work ethic. One should also have the necessary computer skills, bookkeeping skills, and customer service skills.

What does a supervisor do?

Supervisors are responsible for overseeing the daily functions of employees in a specific team, department, or even a work shift. They create work schedules, organize work processes and workflows, train new hires, provide necessary reports related to the team function and the employees, monitor and evaluate employee performance, and ensure that goals of the specific team or department are met. When needed, supervisors also provide guidance to employees in terms of their career or even personal challenges. They also help in fostering harmonious work relationships by resolving interpersonal conflicts at work. To be successful in their role, they must have leadership skills, time management skills, decision-making capabilities, analytical skills, and problem-solving skills.

Associate manager vs supervisor salary

Associate managers and supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Associate ManagerSupervisor
Average salary$83,246$53,902
Salary rangeBetween $55,000 And $124,000Between $31,000 And $92,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCNew York, NY
Highest paying stateNew JerseyAlaska
Best paying companyPayPalReed Smith
Best paying industryFinanceHealth Care

Differences between associate manager and supervisor education

There are a few differences between an associate manager and a supervisor in terms of educational background:

Associate ManagerSupervisor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaStanford University

Associate manager vs supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between associate managers' and supervisors' demographics:

Associate ManagerSupervisor
Average age4446
Gender ratioMale, 45.5% Female, 54.5%Male, 55.8% Female, 44.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 4.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage10%6%

Differences between associate manager and supervisor duties and responsibilities

Associate manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage payroll interface and process including researching payroll issues and enforcing adherence to audit and department guidelines; develop fit/gap analysis.
  • Schedule evictions for residents that have no means of paying delinquent rent.
  • Prepare food for daily plate lunches, take-out orders and in-orders and run kitchen.
  • Run monthly delinquency report on past due rents and sends notices for lockouts liens & evictions.
  • Supervise the management of the POS system and approves all cash wrap management, cash auditing, and tip reporting.
  • Created/Modify PowerPoint presentations for intern training and conferences.
  • Show more

Supervisor example responsibilities.

  • Lead continuous process improvement and six sigma teams to meet ISO 9001 and QS 9000 standards.
  • Manage and implement merchandising strategy for POS marketing and display inventory.
  • Lead comprehensive training for each new volunteer or court-mandate worker regarding OSHA regulations and warehouse procedure.
  • Organize care with 6 CNAs.
  • Coordinate lifeguard duty schedule for all pools.
  • Maintain cleanliness throughout kitchen, coolers, and freezer areas.
  • Show more

Associate manager vs supervisor skills

Common associate manager skills
  • PET, 42%
  • POS, 6%
  • Sales Floor, 5%
  • Product Knowledge, 4%
  • Payroll, 4%
  • Human Resources, 4%
Common supervisor skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Safety Procedures, 9%
  • Sales Floor, 9%
  • POS, 9%
  • Direct Supervision, 9%
  • Payroll, 5%

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