Department lead vs meat department associate

The differences between department leads and meat department associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a department lead, becoming a meat department associate takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a department lead has an average salary of $42,113, which is higher than the $26,955 average annual salary of a meat department associate.

The top three skills for a department lead include cleanliness, safety procedures and customer service. The most important skills for a meat department associate are food handling, customer service, and grinders.

Department lead vs meat department associate overview

	Department Lead	Meat Department Associate
Yearly salary	$42,113	$26,955
Hourly rate	$20.25	$12.96
Growth rate	-	-3%
Number of jobs	204,534	52,410
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	43	42
Years of experience	6	4

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.

What does a meat department associate do?

A meat department associate is responsible for addressing customer needs and offering product suggestions based on the customer's preference. Meat department associates ensure the safe storage of the products, carefully loading and unloading the items from the distribution trucks to the appropriate area. They also assist with product packaging, price labeling, inspecting quality, and eliminating products that do not pass quality standards. A meat department associate may also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, such as taking orders, processing payments, and updating sales reports.

Department lead vs meat department associate salary

Department leads and meat department associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Department Lead	Meat Department Associate
Average salary	$42,113	$26,955
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $79,000	Between $13,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	New Haven, CT	Leesburg, VA
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Tufts Medical Center	Linklaters
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Retail

Differences between department lead and meat department associate education

There are a few differences between a department lead and a meat department associate in terms of educational background:

	Department Lead	Meat Department Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi	-

Department lead vs meat department associate demographics

Here are the differences between department leads' and meat department associates' demographics:

	Department Lead	Meat Department Associate
Average age	43	42
Gender ratio	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%	Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 7.7% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	3%

Differences between department lead and meat department associate duties and responsibilities

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.

Meat department associate example responsibilities.

Placed/Fil orders, maintain inventory, and manage department cleanliness.
Stock meat counter, dairy and frozen foods as well as general groceries.
Maintain, clean and sterilize, tables, deli slicers, and cutting equipment daily.
Clear shopping carts from lot, bag groceries for customers and help customers load groceries into vehicle.
Maintain and clean the meat dept, including saws, grinders, refrigerator, freezer and various other tools and equipment.
Used all equipment in meat department such as the refrigerators, freezers, slicers, and ovens according to company guidelines.

Department lead vs meat department associate skills

Common department lead skills

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

Common meat department associate skills

Food Handling, 20%
Customer Service, 11%
Grinders, 10%
Fresh Product, 8%
Food Safety, 7%
Fresh Meat, 6%

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Department Lead
Department Lead vs Meat Department Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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