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The differences between kitchen supervisors and shift leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a kitchen supervisor has an average salary of $40,520, which is higher than the $33,841 average annual salary of a shift leader.
The top three skills for a kitchen supervisor include culinary, cleanliness and food service. The most important skills for a shift leader are patients, customer complaints, and customer service.
| Kitchen Supervisor | Shift Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $40,520 | $33,841 |
| Hourly rate | $19.48 | $16.27 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 66,303 | 229,485 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 34% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A kitchen supervisor is responsible for managing the overall kitchen operations, ensuring that the kitchen employees follow sanitary procedures while doing their high-quality and maximum productivity tasks. Kitchen supervisors manage inventories, checking the adequacy of food supplies and kitchen equipment, and negotiating contracts with suppliers and third-party vendors. They also help develop marketing strategies, research the latest food trends, update menus, and create financial reports and expense forecasting. A kitchen supervisor must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially with responding to customers' inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints.
Shift leaders are tenured or experienced employees who are assigned to oversee employees in specific work shifts. They manage team members who are assigned in their shift. They also ensure that business goals are met. Shift leaders check whether team members are working, and they ensure that they always comply with company policies and guidelines. They also monitor the performance of their employees and coach them should the employees need help in any area of their work. Shift leaders should have good communication skills, decision-making skills, and interpersonal skills.
Kitchen supervisors and shift leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Kitchen Supervisor | Shift Leader | |
| Average salary | $40,520 | $33,841 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $58,000 | Between $26,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | GoodCents | IBM |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a kitchen supervisor and a shift leader in terms of educational background:
| Kitchen Supervisor | Shift Leader | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 34% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Most common major | Culinary Arts | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between kitchen supervisors' and shift leaders' demographics:
| Kitchen Supervisor | Shift Leader | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.0% Female, 35.0% | Male, 44.2% Female, 55.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 6.8% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.5% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |