Stores often have a number of cashiers working at once. Although there may be many cashiers, one of them often has a greater deal of authority and responsibility than the others. A commonly assigned job title for such an individual is lead cashier or head cashier.
In most instances, a person who is lead cashier once worked as a regular cashier. Although she has a position elevated above her peer cashiers, she is generally not considered a part of management. Her position may or may not be considered supervisory. This depends upon a company’s employment structure. In most instances, a head cashier does not have the authority to hire, fire, or issue disciplinary action.
Two factors often play a major role in determining whether a person will get a lead cashier position. First, the individual is usually required to have in-depth knowledge of the regular cashier position. This means she can easily use the system and equipment for conducting financial transactions. She likely has an excellent sense of placement of items in the store, and her customer service skills are likely to supersede most, if not all, of her peers.
Second, trustworthiness generally plays an important role in landing a head cashier position. It is necessary for the selected individual to be trustworthy because she is often given responsibilities that could have a significant impact on a business. One of these is authorizing voids. Stores often deny cashiers the ability to remove an item once it has been rung up because there is a significant risk of financial losses for the store and theft from customers. Removing items that were rung up by mistake commonly requires the authorization of a senior individual, such as the head cashier.
Another major responsibility that lead cashiers often bear is increased money handling duties. Most cashiers have to deal with money. The lead cashier, however, often has access to a safe where she can get money to make change for cashiers who need it or where she can deposit money when another person’s cash register drawer is too full.
A head cashier may also act as a trainer. It may be her responsibility to assist new employees in learning what they need to know to perform their jobs. Even when training is completed, a head cashier is often the first person other cashiers are supposed to consult if they have questions or problems with normal tasks.
Due to the different duties she has, a lead cashier may be authorized to leave her cash register when there are other tasks she needs to perform. A regular cashier does not usually have this ability unless she is taking a scheduled break. To compensate for the increase in duties and responsibility, the head cashier is likely to receive a higher wage than her peers.