Manufacturing Supervisor Job Description: What You Need to Know
August 15, 2022 | Career Blog
After working in any industry for some time, it’s natural to want to expand your career options or step into a role with more responsibilities, challenges, and rewards. If you have years of experience in the manufacturing industry, then moving into a supervisor role makes sense.
We recommend learning more about what is expected of a manufacturing supervisor, including the skills best suited for the job. This will help you decide whether this is a position you want to pursue.
What Should You Expect in a Manufacturing Supervisor Role?
Manufacturing supervisors have a wide range of duties and must be flexible in how they apply their manufacturing knowledge and skills. Throughout a typical work day, supervisors will plan and monitor different parts of various manufacturing processes. They might make plans to create better efficiency and workflow or implement new systems that help employees. Working with employees and supervisors to implement and enforce these systems is also an important part of the job.
1. Strive for goals. Most manufacturing companies create goals to ensure that they’re meeting demands and supplying their customers with quality products in a timely, cost-effective manner. Specific industries have unique deadlines and busy times, and supervisors need to be familiar with these deadlines to create schedules that function throughout the year.
Supervisors might create these goals or be given directives from higher-ups in the company. It’s the supervisor’s job to make sure the daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly goals are met or exceeded.
It’s also essential that your company’s goals are clearly communicated to employees. Suppose the company or particular employees are struggling to meet their goals. In that case, supervisors will need to investigate to find out what isn’t working, support their employees, and create strategies for more effective production. Along with efficiency, manufacturing supervisors will also oversee the quality of the products their employees are producing.
2. Support best practices. Supervisors must always stay up-to-date on policies and procedures, including safety policies. Supervisors must communicate these policies clearly to their employees, and they need to be ready to enforce any policies or procedures that aren’t performed or completed properly. Supervisors will also need to oversee or perform regular maintenance checks to make sure that all equipment is working correctly and safely.
3. Serve as a liaison and support person. One of the most critical parts of a manufacturing supervisor’s job is to work closely with employees and act as a go-between for employees and upper management.
Supervisors often work closely with scheduling and may assign specific jobs or tasks based on an employee’s skill set or what they enjoy doing. It’s also crucial that supervisors clearly communicate performance expectations to their employees.If these expectations aren’t met, supervisors might need to talk with an employee to uncover any issues, make changes, or even discipline the employee.
Supervisors are often the person that employees can reach out to if they feel they need extra help or additional training to perform their jobs more effectively. Coaching and counseling employees and offering support when needed is one of the most significant parts of a supervisor’s role.
What Skills Are Required As a Supervisor?
Anyone looking into manufacturing supervisor jobs should have solid working knowledge and experience in a manufacturing setting. Often, simply knowing how manufacturing works, what the best approach is for different tasks and operations, and how to make work happen smoothly and efficiently are the best skills a supervisor can have.
Manufacturing supervisors also need to have excellent problem-solving skills. If something goes wrong with a machine, there is an issue with employees, or the company’s goals aren’t met, supervisors will need to work together with other employees to find a solution. These skills also come in handy for creating new systems or plans that might work better than the previous, possibly outdated, systems.
Communication skills are also a crucial part of performing well as a supervisor. Supervisors need to work closely with their employees, and being able to offer support, provide discipline, and work through strategies to create a better working environment is very important. Supervisors will need to learn how to connect with their employees, but they must also be ready to offer corrections if work isn’t being completed or there are other issues.
Supervisors are also often asked to help when hiring employees, so it’s best if a supervisor can assess a person’s skills to decide if they’re a good fit for the company. This is also helpful when it comes to assigning different jobs.
Is a Supervisor Role the Right Career Choice?
Stepping into a supervisor’s role means taking on a great deal of responsibility. It can be challenging, but it can also be professionally and financially rewarding. One of the best ways to see if the role might be the right fit for you is to try a temporary job as a supervisor.
Temporary jobs typically have set start and end dates, and they can increase your experience, help you learn new skills, and boost your resume. They can also be a tool to help you decide if you have the skills and desire to be a supervisor on a more long-term basis.
If you’ve been involved in the manufacturing industry and are looking to step up to a higher level of work, consider applying for a temporary position through Allegiance Staffing. Check out our Job Boards to find opportunities in your area.
We can also work directly with you to help find work that suits you. Simply contact Allegiance Staffing today to find out more about available jobs in your area that could be the pathway to finding local manufacturing supervisor jobs. We look forward to supporting you!