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The differences between shift leaders and supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a supervisor has an average salary of $53,902, which is higher than the $33,841 average annual salary of a shift leader.
The top three skills for a shift leader include patients, customer complaints and customer service. The most important skills for a supervisor are customer service, safety procedures, and sales floor.
| Shift Leader | Supervisor | |
| Yearly salary | $33,841 | $53,902 |
| Hourly rate | $16.27 | $25.91 |
| Growth rate | 10% | - |
| Number of jobs | 229,485 | 224,920 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 37 | 46 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
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.
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.
Shift leaders and supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shift Leader | Supervisor | |
| Average salary | $33,841 | $53,902 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $43,000 | Between $31,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Alaska |
| Best paying company | IBM | Reed Smith |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a shift leader and a supervisor in terms of educational background:
| Shift Leader | Supervisor | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between shift leaders' and supervisors' demographics:
| Shift Leader | Supervisor | |
| Average age | 37 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.2% Female, 55.8% | Male, 55.8% Female, 44.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 Percentage | 10% | 6% |