How to Hire a Team Leader

Why hire a team leader?

The need for new staff can affect both your existing team and your morale. A great team leader hire can help your business:

• Develop the next generation of employees
• Provide excellent customer service
• Lead your company

What are the ranks of team leaders?

There are many positions in the field of management. Some of these titles include:

• Team leaders: Team leaders are on the low end of the management spectrum. They’re responsible for overseeing the work of the crew, training new hires and setting short-term goals for the team. 
• Department manager: Department managers are in charge of a specific section of a store. They ensure their team is completing their work, create department-specific reports and work to improve the department’s sales. 
• General manager: General managers are often responsible for a whole store. They focus on the big-picture duties while department managers and team leaders take care of daily tasks. 
• District manager: A district manager travels between several stores in a predetermined area and assesses the store’s compliance with corporate and federal regulations. They also work to improve each store’s profits and lower operational costs.
• Regional manager: A regional manager is in charge of several district managers. 
• Chief executive officer: Chief executive officers are at the top of the chain of command. They’re responsible for major decisions regarding the whole company. 

Where to find team leaders

To find the right team leader for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Hire from within. Hiring from within can save a company money and time. Assess the knowledge and leadership skills of your current team members to determine if any of them are suitable for a supervisory position. Conduct interviews with quality candidates to make a decision. 
• Post help wanted notices. Notifying the community about the position is often an effective way to obtain a few applications. 
• Use a recruitment agency. Hiring a recruitment agency can give you several options for your team leader position. Set up interviews with agencies to help you find promising candidates. 
• Post your job online. Try posting your team leader job on Indeed to find and attract quality team leader candidates.

What are the ranks of team leaders?

There are many positions in the field of management. Some of these titles include:

• Team leaders: Team leaders are on the low end of the management spectrum. They’re responsible for overseeing the work of the crew, training new hires and setting short-term goals for the team. 
• Department manager: Department managers are in charge of a specific section of a store. They ensure their team is completing their work, create department-specific reports and work to improve the department’s sales. 
• General manager: General managers are often responsible for a whole store. They focus on the big-picture duties while department managers and team leaders take care of daily tasks. 
• District manager: A district manager travels between several stores in a predetermined area and assesses the store’s compliance with corporate and federal regulations. They also work to improve each store’s profits and lower operational costs.
• Regional manager: A regional manager is in charge of several district managers. 
• Chief executive officer: Chief executive officers are at the top of the chain of command. They’re responsible for major decisions regarding the whole company. 

Writing a team leader job description

A thoughtful description is important to finding qualified team leader candidates. A team leader job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your team leader job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on team leader jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Manager
• Supervisor
• Management
• Retail
• Retail management
• Team lead
• Team leader
• Hiring immediately
• Tractor supply

Interviewing team leader candidates

Strong candidates for team leader positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• What style of leadership they practice
• Strategies for dealing with a difficult employee
• Ways to give feedback

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of team leader interview questions for examples (with sample answers).