How to Become a Department Supervisor

It takes three to five years to become a margin department supervisor. Specifically, that is the typical time it takes for starting from an entry-level position in a margin department to be eligible for a supervisor position. While there are no specific educational requirements, it's recommended to have at least a two-year associate's degree.

Working as a margin department supervisor focused on compliance with government regulations. However, it may require a bachelor's degree in an area of specialty. Most employers hiring margin department supervisor positions are looking for experienced candidates more than anything else.

A margin department supervisor oversees the operations of the margin department and therefore requires several years of experience to really learn the operations and margin department.

Due to the management level associated with this job, many skills are required to be successful and ensure the success of your team. Other qualifications needed are Credit Verification, Inquiry Research/ Response, Securities Laws and Regulations Compliance.

A department supervisor at Lowes makes, on average, $40,098 a year ($20 an hour). This can range from as little as $19,500 a year to as high as $80,000 a year. Factors such as location and department impact how much a department supervisor makes at Lowes.

Highest paying cities for department supervisors at Lowes:

• Richmond, CA averages $50,067 a year ($24.07 an hour)

• Stamford, CT averages $48,753 a year ($23.44 an hour)

• Bellevue, WA averages $48,643 a year ($23.39 an hour)

• Lakes, AK averages $46,937 a year ($22.57 an hour)

• San Francisco, CA averages $46,925 a year ($22.56 an hour)

• Palmdale, CA averages $46,420 a year ($22.32 an hour)

• Santa Clara, CA averages $46,244 a year ($22.23 an hour)

• Hartford, CT averages $46,153 a year ($22.19 an hour)

• Pasadena, CA averages $45,985 a year ($22.11 an hour)

• Glendale, CA averages $45,715 a year ($21.98 an hour)

Example of comparable positions at Lowes and pay rate:

• Lowes Supply Chain averages $68,134 a year ($32.76 an hour)

• Lowes Net averages $67,362 a year ($32.39 an hour)

• Lowes Finance averages $57,087 a year ($27.45 an hour)

• Lowes Human Resources averages $56,823 a year ($27.32 an hour)

• Lowes Improvement averages $54,593 a year ($26.25 an hour)

The five roles of a supervisor are educator, sponsor, coach, counselor, and director. Every supervisor role utilizes some combination of these five roles when leading a team.

A supervisor acts as an educator when their employees and team members are new, when processes or conditions change, or when discussing performance expectations.

A supervisor is a sponsor when they recognize the skills of their employees and seek out opportunities for them to showcase these skills and strengths.

A supervisor is coaching when they explain, encourage, plan, correct, or check in with their employees to see how they are doing and to assess performance.

A supervisor is a counselor when they see that an employee's personal problems are impacting their performance and step in to mitigate further action. The employee should solve the problem, and the supervisor's role is to be positive, supportive, and encouraging in that process.

A supervisor is a director when performance problems continue and conversations that direct employees toward recommended alternative actions and what the consequences will be if these actions are not taken. The director's role should be calm and serious, with every word thoroughly documented.

A margin department supervisor is someone who oversees the operations of the margin department. This can mean approving or denying credit to clients and monitoring account activity. A margin department supervisor is there to ensure compliance with all relevant government regulations.

A margin department is typically found in a brokerage firm that monitors customers' margin accounts, ensuring that the margin account balance covers all short sales, stock purchases, and other positions.

The margin department supervisor manages groups of primarily paraprofessional level staff. They are there to make day-to-day decisions for a group/small department. To become a margin department supervisor typically takes three to five years of experience in the related area as an individual contributor.

A margin department supervisor is someone who has a solid understanding of standard practices for all departments and the desire and ability to lead and manage associates throughout multiple departments. A margin department supervisor evaluates sales and margin analysis and customer profitability analysis.