Three Skills for Successful Manufacturing Plant Managers

The plant manager oversees the day-to-day operations of a manufacturing facility. Because this is an advanced position, you must have more than five years of experience in the manufacturing industry. Some employers also require each plant manager to have a bachelor's degree in business administration, industrial management, or a related field. If you want to succeed as a plant manager, you must also have three essential skills. These skills will help you make good decisions when hiring employees, allocating resources, analyzing data, and fixing production problems at your manufacturing plant.

Leadership skills are essential for every plant manager. You will be expected to monitor employee performance, coach underperforming employees, and ensure all workers comply with federal and state safety regulations. If you want workers to respect you, you must be able to do all of these things with confidence. The ability to delegate tasks to other employees is another hallmark of good leadership. This frees up your time for other activities and helps your best employees learn new skills to help them advance their careers.

If you want to succeed as a plant manager, you must also have financial management skills. You will be responsible for managing production expenses, following a budget, and preparing financial reports. Knowing how to perform basic calculations isn't enough for this type of job. You should know how to use spreadsheet software to produce financial reports and create charts and graphs. A good plant manager also understands how to calculate direct labor costs, employee turnover rate, average cost per hire, and other metrics used to determine how well a manufacturing plant is performing. If you do not have the right financial management skills for the job, sign up for a course on business math or operations management.

Every plant manager should also have excellent communication skills, especially when working with a diverse workforce. At times, you will need to communicate with executives as well as employees on the production line, so you must know the best way to communicate with each group. Some companies are starting internships and apprenticeships to help with the manufacturing skills shortage in the United States. If your company has this type of program, you must be able to communicate with young participants in a way that gets them excited about entering the manufacturing industry after they graduate.

Becoming a plant manager is a great way to use the skills you have learned to advance your manufacturing career. With the right skills, you will be able to inspire employees, control production costs, and share important information with production workers and company executives. If you do not have these essential skills, enroll in continuing education courses or take advantage of company-sponsored training programs before you become a plant manager.

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