Recruiting Trends for Industrial Production Managers

Key competencies of industrial production managers

These operational managers are responsible for coordinating the flow of materials and equipment within a factory or manufacturing plant. They’re also responsible for overseeing safety compliance and ensuring that their employees are well-trained and fully capable of performing their duties effectively.

The most important quality for an industrial production manager are accessibility and integrity. These qualities are essential because industrial production managers have to be able to communicate clearly with employees about their duties and responsibilities, as well as with management about any problems that arise on the job site.

Industrial production managers should also be able to work well in a team environment because they will spend most of their time interacting with other employees who report directly to them or are part of their department’s chain of command. Candidates who thrive under pressure will also do well in this role because they may need to make quick decisions when something goes wrong during production processes at factories or other types of businesses where these professionals might work.

The four places to find production managers

There is a lot of competition for filling these positions, but don’t worry—there are plenty of great resources to help you find the perfect candidate.

1. Job Posts: Write a great job post to upload to job boards
2. Your Network: Publish your open position to your network on LinkedIn
3. Agency Networks: Access Amtec’s network of qualified candidates
4. Recruiters: Hire a recruiter to find the right top-notch matching candidate

Recruit from adjacent industries

You can also find success by recruiting professionals outside of the traditional manufacturing industries. Many candidates with skillsets and backgrounds in other sectors—such as electronics, aerospace or consumer products—can transition to a role managing industrial production. You just have to know what to look for and make sure you sell them on the opportunity (and your company), in addition to providing career development resources so they can learn new industry-specific knowledge.

Recruit based on capability, not solely on experience

So if you’ve had trouble finding well-fitting candidates, it might be time to broaden your search. Since the skills and qualities required for success in this position are transferrable across industries, try looking beyond a candidate’s experience in your immediate industry. Instead of narrowing your search to candidates who have direct experience in industrial production, look for candidates who have strong management experience and general business knowledge. By looking considering applicants with transferable management experience and knowledge the training you invest may yield greater innovation. 

Put emphasis on soft skills like problem-solving ability, adaptability, and flexibility. By keeping an open mind throughout the interview process, you’ll increase the likelihood of hiring someone talented who can learn and grow with your company over time.

Dig in! Ask behavioral interview questions for industrial production managers

A great way to find out what makes them tick is to ask behavioral interview questions. For example, if you’re looking for a candidate who is assertive, there are several questions you can ask to learn how competent a candidate is with this skill. Several questions include:

Tell us about a time when you were given a project with unclear instructions. What did you do? How did it turn out?

Describe a situation where you needed something from someone who was not willing to help you or cooperate. What was the outcome? What was challenging about the situation?

Can you give an example of a time when something needed to be done but nobody was stepping up? What was the outcome? What other factors were present that required some action? Was your response a typical experience or a one-time event? What did others think about your choice?

You can get more questions like these with our personalized interview guide. Select up to 10 competencies you’d like to see in your new team member, fill out the form, and we’ll send you your custom guide including helpful questions and instructions on how to score your candidates.

Discover their soft skills to discern if they are a manager who leads

When evaluating potential managers, employers place less emphasis on specific experience in the industrial production industry and more on candidates’ soft skills. Industrial production managers play a vital role in any company’s productivity and profitability, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that their successes are dependent upon their ability to motivate and manage employees.

This is especially true for new managers. Once you’re the leader of a team, your management styles will become more refined over time. In order to secure your first management position, however, you’ll need to prove your competency as an employee manager right off the bat.

Production is changing and hiring managers need to adapt to change and stay competitive

As technology has evolved, manufacturing has evolved right along with it. This is both good and bad news for hiring managers in this space; the good news is that technological innovation has paved a path towards greater efficiency and effectiveness. The bad news is that it’s also made the industry a competitive one. In order to stay competitive, hiring managers need to be able to find qualified workers who can do the job as well or better than their competition.

This means staying on top of the latest manufacturing trends and keeping your finger on the pulse of what technologies are available today—and will be available tomorrow. While many industrial production managers have been in their positions for several years, there isn’t much room for complacency here because if you aren’t finding new ways to streamline processes, someone else will!

Partner With Amtec

We’ve been helping companies like yours find great industrial production managers for years. It’s a job that requires someone who is organized and has an eye for detail. We have years of experience working with this type of candidate and we know exactly what they look for when considering a new job opportunity. Our team has extensive knowledge about what it takes for companies like yours to attract top talent like these professionals so we can help guide your efforts toward success.