Team supervisor vs department lead

The differences between team supervisors and department leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a team supervisor and a department lead. Additionally, a team supervisor has an average salary of $58,718, which is higher than the $42,113 average annual salary of a department lead.

The top three skills for a team supervisor include direct supervision, safety procedures and sales associates. The most important skills for a department lead are cleanliness, safety procedures, and customer service.

Team supervisor vs department lead overview

	Team Supervisor	Department Lead
Yearly salary	$58,718	$42,113
Hourly rate	$28.23	$20.25
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	102,766	204,534
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	47	43
Years of experience	6	6

What does a team supervisor do?

The responsibilities of a team supervisor depend on one's place or industry of employment. Most of the time, it is their role to oversee operations and work performance within the team, delegate tasks, set the budget and sales target, train new members of the workforce, and ensure to meet all goals while maintaining efficiency in all aspects. Furthermore, as a team supervisor, it is essential to lead and encourage the staff to their fullest potential and implement the workplace's policies.

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.

Team supervisor vs department lead salary

Team supervisors and department leads have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Team Supervisor	Department Lead
Average salary	$58,718	$42,113
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $92,000	Between $22,000 And $79,000
Highest paying City	Newark, NJ	New Haven, CT
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Rhode Island
Best paying company	State Street	Tufts Medical Center
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between team supervisor and department lead education

There are a few differences between a team supervisor and a department lead in terms of educational background:

	Team Supervisor	Department Lead
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Team supervisor vs department lead demographics

Here are the differences between team supervisors' and department leads' demographics:

	Team Supervisor	Department Lead
Average age	47	43
Gender ratio	Male, 58.6% Female, 41.4%	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 5.7% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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%
LGBT Percentage	8%	9%

Differences between team supervisor and department lead duties and responsibilities

Team supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage a small group of people while effectively serving large amounts of food in small windows of time.
Accomplish requirements, allocating resources, scheduling and coordinating staff and assure accuracy of payroll.
Manage an embed Facebook executive protection team that provide security and logistical support for a corporate executive and his family.
Represent the payer side of WA Medicaid in medical necessity reviews against plan benefits.
Vacuum, mop, buffer floors, clean windows, take out trash, clean computer room.
Prepare PowerPoint presentations to present team metrics.

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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.

Team supervisor vs department lead skills

Common team supervisor skills

Direct Supervision, 9%
Safety Procedures, 7%
Sales Associates, 6%
Lead Generation, 6%
Store Operations, 6%
Excellent Interpersonal, 5%

Common department lead skills

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

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Updated January 8, 2025

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