Production management is an activity that directly affects the development of an enterprise. However, to ensure the production work always runs smoothly and efficiently, a professional production manager needs to possess certain skills. Here are the top 10 skills required from a professional production manager. Let's find out with Navigos Search in the article below!
1. Production skills
This is one of the most important skills that a professional production manager must have. No production process can be carried out without planning the implementation or organizing, arranging the work process and assigning tasks to a qualified team. Production organization is significant, helping the production process to operate smoothly, efficiently, in accordance with standards and ultimately bring high productivity.
See more: Key duties of a production director
There are many requirements for a professional production manager
Therefore, the manager must clearly understand the purpose, requirements, targets and characteristics of the product. Since then, they have planned in detail about human resources, timeline, deadline and working methods to ensure high accuracy, logic, and optimal feasibility.
And if you would like to improve this skill, you can refer to some tips below:
- To have organized thinking
- To organize production documents into technological equipment
- To identify the most important task
- To arrange work in order of priority
- To spend more time thinking
- To connect with customers
- To encourage employees to contribute ideas
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2. Time management skill
Time is an essential factor that managers need to control well to ensure products are launched on time and according to proposed standards. Therefore, production managers must develop and continuously improve their skills to help their production process become more efficient. This skill can be accumulated through working experience. It requires a professional production manager to have a lot of experience over time. You can also apply the following suggestions:
- Set deadlines for yourself and your employees
- Make a specific work plan
- Sort your work in order of priority
- Scientific workplace arrangement
- Assign specific tasks to employees
- Highly concentrated during working hours
3. Goal setting skills
Knowing how to set clear goals is also one of the critical skills of a professional production manager. A production manager is considered successful when they can set goals and make decisions about what needs to be done to achieve them. Managers must set the priority of each task and execute them in order. When managers set clear goals, employees will be more motivated to complete the task.
In addition, when managers successfully complete the set goals, they have more spirit and confidence to pursue other more ambitious goals. Therefore, it is easy to understand that successful managers are always those who know how to set goals in life and at work.
Goal setting is a very important skill for managers
4. Effective leadership skills
Effective leadership skill is defined when a manager can use their expertise and experience to motivate and direct employees to take actions to accomplish the common goals of the business. The person possessing this skill will know foresight, strategic thinking, good technical knowledge and know how to manage his subordinates.
Practical leadership skills help leaders figure out what needs to be done and motivate their teams to get the jobs done. People with good leadership will identify a change in strategic direction and execute those strategies with a positive attitude.
To become a professional operation and production manager, you need to grasp factors such as:
- Have a plan to solve the problem skillfully and without affecting the interests of employees in the company
- Cultivate yourself the ability to think strategically to analyze and plan effectively, be far ahead of the competition, and achieve the set goals.
- Spread inspiration, create motivation, spread a positive spirit to encourage everyone to try to accomplish the set goals.
- Practice discipline, follow the set rules to become an admirable leader, a role model in the eyes of colleagues and employees.
5. Communication skill
Certainly, communication skills are an indispensable factor for a manager. You must have communication, presentation, problem-solving skills, and the ability to improvise in difficult situations. If communication is good, communicating coherent and precise information will help employees understand the direction and goals you are setting.
Not only that, a professional production manager also regularly communicates with other departments to guide and develop products in the right direction. Therefore, practicing good communication skills will help managers deploy work more effectively, create empathy and understanding with people around.
Practice this skill by listening actively, being careful with the word choice in communication, paying attention to other people's feelings, managing emotions well, caring about people's thoughts,...
Effective communication will help you deploy work more effectively
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6. Planning production schedule
A scientific and detailed production schedule is one of the primary conditions for the production process to occur by manufacturing and achieve high efficiency. Therefore, the planning process for the production schedule must ensure accuracy and be suitable for each task.
To do this, a professional production manager needs to grasp the nature and characteristics of each task, the requirements of each specific manufacturing stage. From there, they will have the most reasonable and flexible arrangement, facilitating and making sure each department's working process is carried out smoothly to bring value and high quality end results ultimately.
7. Task delegation skill
Many people think that task delegation is not a skill because everyone is capable of doing it well. However, this is completely a misconception. In fact, task delegation skill is a very challenging skill, requiring carefulness and foresight. Therefore, proper task delegation is also a skill that needs to be practiced and honed by a professional production manager.
You cannot be a good production manager if you do not know how to supervise and delegate tasks to members effectively. This skill helps production managers properly identify the strengths of each team member and assign tasks based on their strengths. With the skill of task delegation, the tasks that need to be completed will be of the best quality and will not make employees feel uncomfortable and that they are treated unfairly.
To develop this skill well, you need to know the following principles:
- Ensure that you assign the right task to the right person at the right time.
- Ensure transparency and clarity.
- Always uphold fairness and reasonableness.
- Always monitor progress.
- Ask members for feedback and work reports.
- Evaluate the level of completion accurately and give praise and encouragement to employees with good results.
Reasonable task delegation helps with the best end results
8. Computer-aided technology application
This is a vital skill in the digital era. Currently, most production management and business operations are optimized by modern software and technologies. Therefore, production managers must master this skill to make good use of new features to improve work efficiency and productivity.
To hone your skills in applying technology, you must have an open mind, not be afraid to change, and adapt well to new innovations. In particular, if you already have a digital transformation mindset, managers must spend time training employees on how to apply technology. Therefore, if you master this skill, the training process will be more convenient and effective.
9. Research and analysis skills
To be able to identify the right product type, user preferences, and competitor position, a professional production manager must have good research skills. Good research and data analysis skills will help production managers identify opportunities and threats in the production procedure. From there, build a solid foundation to produce quality products.
The ability to analyze and use data also makes it easier for managers to make reasonable decisions to support business activities. Besides, when you master this skill, you need to have timely solutions to overcome difficulties and solve all problems effectively.
For effective research and analysis, you need first to identify the problem. Then, conduct research, analyze the problem and find the cause, the related events to come up with the most appropriate solution. Analytical and research skills are very important, which is the premise to help effectively handle any problem at work.
10. Motivate and empower the employees
A good manager is one who understands the nature of the work of each employee. Since then, with appropriate job requirements and KPIs and a reasonable remuneration regime, employees will work more efficiently and work quality is also higher. Not only that, an intelligent manager also reduces working hours for employees with scientific and technical advances, cuts unnecessary stages, and refreshes products,…
Motivating employees is an effective way to promote work morale
Production management work will become simpler, more scientific and more effective if you possess the above 10 skills. Navigos Search hopes this article has brought you useful information to help you become a professional production manager. Thank you for always following us!
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