Production Supervisor

Production Supervisor qualifications to look for 

A production supervisor oversees daily operations and resolves problems in manufacturing. Your top hire will have deep technical knowledge and a strong understanding of quality management.

Look for candidates with experience in your specific field, or who can answer complex technical questions about the production process. 

Keep an eye out for candidates who have:

• Solid communication skills 
• Strong leadership skills 
• A strong team-player mentality
• The ability to solve problems
  

Top tip: Hire candidates willing to grow by making sure their personal career goals align with your company's mission.

Problem-solving interview questions

• What do you do if two employees are in a confrontation that affects performance?  
• How do you reward employees who are going above and beyond? 
• What would you do if an employee was consistently late from lunch? 
• What steps do you take to ensure your team respects company policy and regulations?
• How do you handle products in the daily batch that aren’t up to standard?
• How do you respond to an employee who isn’t using protective equipment? 

Role-specific interview questions

• How do you contribute to quality management?
• How do you go about preparing production schedules? What are the steps? 
• What’s your experience with lean manufacturing? Can you go into detail? 
• What makes you a good supervisor?
• What methods would you use to motivate employees? How do you help employees who fall behind? 
• Explain how to use six-sigma?
• What experience do you have using computers?
• What kind of equipment do you experience with? Is there anything you’re not comfortable using? 
• How many people did you supervise in your last job? What was the dynamic between you and your subordinates? 

Behavioral interview questions

• Give me an example of a subordinate who didn’t perform as well as you expected. What did you learn from this?
• Describe a time you had to make a difficult/unpopular decision. How did you ensure it was followed through? How did you boost morale after? 
• Tell me about a time you made a production process more efficient. What was your role and what was the outcome? 
• Recall a time you managed to build an effective team. How did it help with efficiency? 
• Tell me about how you met production goals in your previous job. What systems did you put into place?