What does a unit supervisor do?
A unit supervisor oversees and supervises employees, ensuring that work operations adhere to standards, guidelines, timelines, and budget. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their industry or company of employment, they are typically in charge of conducting regular inspections and assessments, setting objectives and guidelines, delegating responsibilities among staff, and producing progress reports, submitting them to higher-ranking managers. Moreover, aside from leading teams to reach goals, a unit supervisor also trains new members of the workforce, provides technical support to staff, and resolves issues and concerns to maintain smooth operations.
Unit supervisor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real unit supervisor resumes:
- Manage direct support professionals serving adult populations for persons with mental health, developmental disabilities and children with autism.
- Document patient information and recording information correctly, as well as ensuring other workers are following OSHA and HIPAA requirements.
- Attend weekly QA collaboration meetings and actively participate in discussions.
- Utilize Kaizen activities to drive continuous process and quality improvements.
- Submit MDS assessments to CMS timely and organize documentation for timely filing.
- Evaluate admissions for Medicare/ Medicaid eligibility; prepare MDS and PPS documentation.
- Ensure patients with head trauma and psychological illnesses residing in the facility receive appropriate treatment and retraining.
- Participate in preparation and successful rehabilitation specialty certification initiative.
- Participate in preparation and successful rehabilitation specialty certification initiative.
Unit supervisor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Unit Supervisors are proficient in Patients, Corrective Action, and Social Work. They’re also known for soft skills such as Management skills, Time-management skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Unit Supervisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 11%
Created work schedules Supervised and directed local volunteer firefighters on scenes of motor vehicle accidents involving multiple patients.
- Corrective Action, 10%
Conduct planning and evaluation of staff performance plans including issuing of corrective actions, resolving informal grievances and initiating disciplinary actions.
- Social Work, 8%
Supervised seven social workers responsible for investigating allegations of abuse and/or neglect for the state of New Hampshire
- Oversight, 7%
Provide operational and administrative oversight for evening shift for a residential program for adjudicated youth.
- Conflict Resolution, 6%
Conducted annual employee performance evaluations, provided prompt employee conflict resolutions; enforced disciplinary measures when necessary.
- Direct Supervision, 6%
Provided direct supervision of all Behavioral Specialists as assigned.
Common skills that a unit supervisor uses to do their job include "patients," "corrective action," and "social work." You can find details on the most important unit supervisor responsibilities below.
Time-management skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling unit supervisor duties is time-management skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." According to a unit supervisor resume, here's how unit supervisors can utilize time-management skills in their job responsibilities: "completed hr duties for unit (payroll, expense reports, vacation time, leave and hiring/discipline)"
Leadership skills. This is an important skill for unit supervisors to perform their duties. For an example of how unit supervisor responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a unit supervisor: "promote quality care and oversight of 2 medical surgical intensive care units using inter-disciplinary collaboration with a servant leadership philosophy".
The three companies that hire the most unit supervisors are:
- Highmark21 unit supervisors jobs
- VIVA USA
9 unit supervisors jobs
- Sonic Drive-In7 unit supervisors jobs
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Compare different unit supervisors
Unit supervisor vs. Supervisor, patient access
A patient access supervisor is an individual who is responsible for supervising a health facility's patient registration, inpatient and outpatient, the financial counseling division, central scheduling, and the PBX department. Patient access supervisors must ensure that high-quality service for patients is achieved as well as the accuracy of information. They must create staffing calendars and make hiring decisions to maintain adequate staffing in the department. Patient access supervisors must also develop and implement policies and procedures for the department.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a unit supervisor are more likely to require skills like "social work," "oversight," "conflict resolution," and "direct supervision." On the other hand, a job as a supervisor, patient access requires skills like "customer service," "patient care," "revenue cycle," and "medical terminology." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Supervisors, patient access earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $48,671. On the other hand, unit supervisors are paid more in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $53,692.supervisors, patient access tend to reach similar levels of education than unit supervisors. In fact, supervisors, patient access are 4.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Unit supervisor vs. Team leader/supervisor
A team leader or supervisor is an individual who leads and supervises a workgroup's functionality through instructions and guidance in an organization. Team leaders provide support to staff members by way of coaching and skills development. They are responsible for preventing and resolving conflicts among staff members by setting ground rules and assigning tasks properly. They also organize team meetings and report the progress of a project to the management. Since they lead a workforce, team leaders must possess excellent verbal communication skills and have a great work ethic.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that unit supervisor responsibilities requires skills like "patients," "social work," "oversight," and "conflict resolution." But a team leader/supervisor might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "safety procedures," "quality standards," "sales floor," and "payroll."
In general, team leader/supervisors achieve lower levels of education than unit supervisors. They're 7.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Unit supervisor vs. Field service supervisor
A field service supervisor is an individual who supervises a team of field service staff that perform routine services on sites such as installation, maintenance, and repair. This supervisor is required to delegate work assignments to the field service staff and support them in providing excellent client service. The supervisor must manage all the queries of customers while coordinating with the relevant departments to resolve issues related to field services. This supervisor must also prepare annual budgets as well as manage expenses within the allotted budget.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, unit supervisors are more likely to have skills like "patients," "social work," "oversight," and "conflict resolution." But a field service supervisor is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "customer satisfaction," "safety procedures," and "osha."
Field service supervisors make a very good living in the energy industry with an average annual salary of $77,329. On the other hand, unit supervisors are paid the highest salary in the hospitality industry, with average annual pay of $53,692.When it comes to education, field service supervisors tend to earn lower degree levels compared to unit supervisors. In fact, they're 8.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Unit supervisor vs. Contact center supervisor
A contact center supervisor is responsible for monitoring the performance of contact center representatives, ensuring that they provide the best customer service by handling the customers' inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints timely and efficiently. Contact center supervisors train new representatives and coaching the team regularly to improve their customer service skills, identify areas of improvement, and develop strategic procedures to address those difficulties. They also conduct training and programs to maximize the representatives' productivity in the production area.
Types of unit supervisor
Updated January 8, 2025
