How to hire a Key Holder

How to hire a key holder, step by step

Here's a step-by-step key holder hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a key holder job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new key holder
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a Key Holder do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the key holder you need to hire. Certain key holder roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect key holder also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents key holder salaries for various positions.

   Type Of Key Holder	Description	Hourly Rate
   Key Holder		$12-18
   Manager Trainee	A manager trainee's primary function is to observe and gain practical experience from working with senior staff or managers and following their daily directives. Most of the tasks will be administrative support related, which will involve preparing reports and assessments, keeping and updating records, creating presentations, and crafting strategies alongside supervising officers... Show More	$17-31
   Sales Leader	A Sales Leader's responsibility is more than just leading. Most of the tasks involve monitoring the progress of sales, creating strategies to attain financial gains, managing the workforce, and as well as suggesting and enforcing particular options that would be beneficial for the sales and the company... Show More	$15-66

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Sales Floor
   • Product Knowledge
   • Visual Standards
   • Bank Deposits
   • Loss Prevention
   • Store Management
   • Retail Store
   • POS
   • Store Sales
   • Retail Sales
   • Cleanliness
   • PET
   • Stock Room
   • Sales Transactions

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Achieve and exceed store and company sales and KPI goals.
   • Manage monetary transactions and POS operations.
   • Used upselling techniques daily when selling gaming systems and accessories.
   • Maintain operational duties in the manager's absence including scheduling and review of KPI reports.
   • Used social networking, such as Facebook, to keep customers update on new arrivals and merchandise.
   • Maintain a cleanly environment for customers, employees, and other animals, especially after any pet messes.

   More Key Holder duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your key holder job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A key holder salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a key holder in Louisiana may be lower than in Wisconsin, and an entry-level key holder usually earns less than a senior-level key holder. Additionally, a key holder with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average key holder salary

   $15.28hourly

   $31,779 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level key holder salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 17, 2025

   Average key holder salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	New York	$39,768	$19
   2	Massachusetts	$39,127	$19
   3	Hawaii	$37,762	$18
   4	Washington	$36,457	$18
   5	Minnesota	$36,233	$17
   6	New Jersey	$35,956	$17
   7	Georgia	$35,725	$17
   8	California	$34,819	$17
   9	Colorado	$34,019	$16
   10	Delaware	$33,228	$16
   11	Illinois	$33,105	$16
   12	Michigan	$32,404	$16
   13	Indiana	$32,396	$16
   14	Virginia	$31,244	$15
   15	Pennsylvania	$30,898	$15
   16	Ohio	$30,520	$15
   17	Maryland	$29,927	$14
   18	Florida	$29,460	$14
   19	Arizona	$29,041	$14
   20	Nevada	$28,842	$14

   Average key holder salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Connecticut Children's Medical Center	$34,852	$16.76	2
   2	L'Oréal	$34,453	$16.56	231
   3	Abercrombie & Fitch Co	$34,387	$16.53	771
   4	Amazon	$33,700	$16.20	68
   5	Nestlé	$33,657	$16.18	27
   6	The Walt Disney Company	$33,593	$16.15	15
   7	The Home Store	$33,467	$16.09	8
   8	Vera Bradley	$33,323	$16.02	139
   9	Brighton Collectibles	$33,268	$15.99	5
   10	Michael Kors	$33,253	$15.99	208
   11	Jordan's Furniture	$33,126	$15.93
   12	Chico Hot Springs	$32,813	$15.78	3
   13	Tory Burch	$32,613	$15.68	92
   14	Edible Arrangements	$32,609	$15.68	14
   15	Hudson Group	$32,538	$15.64	27
   16	MOD Pizza	$32,351	$15.55
   17	Filson	$32,314	$15.54	7
   18	City of Eden Prairie	$32,255	$15.51	1
   19	Rebecca School	$32,207	$15.48
   20	Kendra Scott	$32,180	$15.47	27

4. Writing a Key Holder Job Description

   A key holder job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a key holder job description:

   Key Holder job description example

   $500 SIGN ON BONUS FOR JOINING OUR TEAM! (Details to follow)

   Summary:

   Keyholders are responsible for the opening and closing operations of designated areas. Work with Terminal/Department management and associates to drive sales and ensure high levels of customer service.

   Responsibilities:

   · Manage the store in the absence of management, demonstrating outside sales and customer service.

   · Mentoring sales associates in generating sales, store housekeeping, loss prevention, merchandising, pricing, cash register operations (POS).

   · Adhere to U.S. Customs regulations and all company policies and procedures.

   · Ensuring client concerns are solved professionally

   · Act as role models of professionalism, ethical behavior and effective decision making at all time.

   · Delegating tasks and following-up to ensure task completion.

   · Motivating associate to perform at a high level

   · Training employees to interact with clients in a professional manner

   Education & Experience:

   · Minimum of three (3) years of retail experience

   · Minimum of one (1) year of previous customer service or selling experience

   · Ability to work in fast-paced environment

   · Excellent Interpersonal Skills (examples are: active listening, verbal communication, assertiveness)

   · Bi-lingual skills a plus (Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Turkish)

   Requirements:

   · Must be flexible with schedule; Evening, Weekends and Holidays are MANDATORY!

   · Must present professional appearance while interacting with clients

   · Must be team oriented

   Must participate in semi-annual inventory

   · Must pass airport security background

   Physical Requirements:

   · Must be able to lift up to 25lbs

   · Must be able to stand and/or walk for eight hours per shift

   · Must be able to bend, kneel, and stoop.

   Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employees for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right key holder for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your key holder job on Zippia to find and recruit key holder candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting key holders requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new key holder

   Once you've selected the best key holder candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a key holder?