Apprenticeship training course

Retail manager (level 4)

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Information about Retail manager (level 4)

Managing staff, their work and sales within a retail environment.

• Knowledge, skills and behaviours:
  View knowledge, skills and behaviours

  Knowledge

  • Customer: Understand key drivers of customer journeys and how managing positive customer experiences increases sales, customer spend and loyalty, and the resulting financial impact on the business
  • Business: Understand the vision of the business, its competitive position and own role and responsibility in the delivery of business objectives. Understand the market in which the business operates and how this impacts on the products / services it offers
  • Financial: Understand the key drivers of profitable retail performance and the relationship of forecasting to the retail calendar; know how to analyse and use information for forecasting, and how to report on financial results. Identify the impact of different types of costs on the business and understand how to make effective use of resources
  • Leadership: Understand different leadership styles used in retail businesses and when to use them effectively to motivate and inspire the team to do their best
  • Marketing: Know the key factors influencing a marketing plan such as product launch and life cycle, pricing, discount and special offers and ways of marketing via physical and other media. Understand how own business has formed marketing plan and how own role can best utilise marketing strategies to address demand throughout the retail calendar
  • Communication: Understand how to communicate and cascade information effectively at all levels and to a diverse audience. Know how to identify the information required for decision making, how it should be gathered and reported internally and externally
  • Sales & Promotion: Understand how to set sales targets that are challenging but realistic and how to lead team members to achieve sales targets, maximising opportunities and reducing potential threats to sales across the retail calendar
  • Product & Service: Keep up to date knowledge of product ranges, brand development, promotions, current and future trends. Understand how to analyse, interpret and share information and brief relevant stakeholders on products and services
  • Brand Reputation: Understand the importance of upholding brand reputation,how brand reputation can become compromised and the impact on the business, and how threats can be managed. Identify the impact of social media on the industry and how it is used in own organisation
  • Merchandise: Understand key features of merchandising and how these link with the business’ merchandising plan to achieve sales targets. Know the particular requirements of related activities such as seasonal peaks and troughs over the retail calendar year
  • Technology: Understand the technology requirements of the business and how to manage them to achieve effective and efficient retail operations and service; identify commonly used and emerging technology in the retail industry and identify its current and potential impact on the business
  • Developing self: Identify a variety of ways to inspire and motivate team members, how to positively influence their approach to work and how to pass on knowledge and experience. Understand the importance of, and process for, ensuring team members’ and own development
  • Team performance: Know how to recruit, retain and develop the right people for the right roles. Know the key theories of performance management and how to apply them to retail teams using own organisation’s tools and protocols to support them
  • Legal & Governance: Understand environmental, legislative, corporate, data protection and social responsibilities relating to retail businesses
  • Diversity: Understand how local demographics impact on business, customers, staff and products and how this impacts the business policies on diversity and equal opportunities

  Skills

  • Customer: Manage the customer experience, including remotely e.g. on- line, through ensuring the team deliver to customers a positive experience that benchmarks favourably to its main competitors and meets customer service objectives
  • Business: Lead the team to achieve and exceed business objectives through forward planning, analysis and evaluation of own business area. Use sales and customer data to make sound and effective decisions which improve business performance
  • Financial: Manage the overall performance of the team to achieve financial targets taking into account the retail calendar year. Analyse reports to identify and determine key actions and recommendations. Produce and report on financial plans as required by the business, and identify and implement opportunities to increase profit and reduce waste
  • Leadership: Provide clear direction and leadership to the team, giving open and honest feedback. Apply and adapt own leadership style to different retail situations and people to achieve the desired outcome
  • Marketing: Communicate marketing objectives to team members and drive results. Analyse and evaluate the impact of marketing activities e.g. sales and customer feedback, and report the outcomes to senior management with relevant recommendations
  • Communication: Establish clear communication objectives, lead communications in a style and manner that is relevant to the target audience and achieves an effective result for the business
  • Sales and Promotion: Manage the team to achieve sales targets through regular monitoring of performance against results, identifying high and low performance products / services and taking timely action to find and implement appropriate solutions
  • Product and Service: Analyse and interpret product / service sales information and use it to make recommendations for future planning e.g. of staff and resources, ideas for new initiatives. Research and demonstrate new products / services or initiatives to the team
  • Brand Reputation: Ensure the team carry out activities in line with business and brand values that actively market the business, support competitiveness and help meet business objectives. Identify possible risks to brand reputation and take action to prevent or minimise their impact
  • Merchandise: Ensure effective merchandising set up, monitoring and maintenance in own area of business. Measure the impact of merchandising on sales and report the outcome to colleagues and senior managers, providing recommendations for improvements, and implementing changes within own remit
  • Stock: Monitor the stock management system to minimise the cost of damage to stock and the loss of stock to the business. Ensure audit compliance and react quickly to results to maintain business standards and stock requirements
  • Developing self: Work with team members to maximise their potential and achieve organisation’s objectives. Implement effective and accurate training on products, services and legislation governing sales, such as age restricted products, trading standards and weights and measures
  • Team performance: Recruit the right people into the right job, monitor team performance and recognise excellence, effectively manage performance that is below standard
  • Legal and Governance: Manage and continuously review adherence to legislation and regulations / policies for due diligence; handle audits and regulatory authorities such as the Environmental Health Officer appropriately
  • Diversity: Implement business policy on diversity, ensuring team are aware of and know how to work effectively with colleagues customers and other stakeholders from wide range of backgrounds and cultures
  • Technology: Ensure technology is sourced, located, available, maintained and secured in line with business needs; oversee the use of technology in line with business policy, identify and make recommendations for improvement

  Behaviours

  • Customer: Take overall accountability and responsibility for the customers’ experience. Make effective decisions by balancing the needs of the customer and the business
  • Business: Demonstrate personal responsibility for the strategic direction and objectives for own area of the business
  • Financial: Demonstrate commercial acumen and confidence to initiate change to improve the financial performance and profitability in line with business policy, objectives and procedures
  • Leadership: Influence, challenge and involve others, aligning personal values with those of the company to instil a high performance culture
  • Marketing: Proactively seek to understand the marketing strategy of the business, gain knowledge of local area and competition, take action, or upwardly communicate recommendations on action, to improve the implementation and drive marketing activities in area of responsibility
  • Communication: Adapt style and method of communication to the circumstances and needs of individuals intuitively, demonstrating appropriate skills such as empathy, fairness and authority as appropriate; seek and provide feedback in a positive manner
  • Sales and Promotion: Think ahead and take positive actions to maximise opportunities for sales and effective marketing activities, make cost effective use of resources through robust processes to meet sales targets
  • Product and Service: Take ownership of the service offer, keeping self and team up to date with brand developments. Passionately take pride in new products and services actively promoting these with colleagues and customers
  • Brand Reputation: Champion the brand and work closely with team and management to ensure brand reputation is upheld at all times
  • Merchandising: Adapt merchandising principles to own environment, store configuration, local needs and sales patterns
  • Stock: Take ownership of stock management systems to meet current and projected business needs`
  • Technology: Drive efficiency in the implementation and use of new opportunities in technology for retail that will provide benefits to the business
  • Developing self: Help team members balance work and life priorities, realise their potential and see the benefits of self- development and improvement. Demonstrate commitment to self-improvement, championing a culture of continual development and progression
  • Team Performance: Orchestrate effective team dynamics, build effective relationships that select the right person for the right task, recognise individual styles and preferences and use these to build a strong team
  • Legal and Governance: Be accountable, advocate and adhere to the importance of working legally in the best interests of all people
  • Diversity: Instil values which embrace the benefits of working in a culturally diverse environment
• Apprenticeship category (sector): Sales, marketing and procurement
• Qualification level: 4; Equal to higher national certificate (HNC)
• Course duration: 12 months
• Maximum funding: £5,000 ; Maximum government funding for ; apprenticeship training and assessment costs.
• Job titles include:
  • Sales Manager
  • Commercial Manager
  • Retail Store Manager
  • Store Manager

View more information about Retail manager (level 4) from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.