Post job

General production manager vs supervisor

The differences between general production managers and supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a general production manager and a supervisor. Additionally, a supervisor has an average salary of $53,902, which is higher than the $32,434 average annual salary of a general production manager.

The top three skills for a general production manager include general production, food safety and hand tools. The most important skills for a supervisor are customer service, safety procedures, and sales floor.

General production manager vs supervisor overview

General Production ManagerSupervisor
Yearly salary$32,434$53,902
Hourly rate$15.59$25.91
Growth rate--
Number of jobs183,687224,920
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 40%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

What does a general production manager do?

A general production manager is responsible for overseeing the overall production operations for the business, managing staff performance, and ensuring that the team performs with the highest productivity and efficiency. General production managers perform quality control procedures to monitor the stability and effectiveness of current processes and minimize downtimes. They also handle the budget and resource allocation across the department to support activities and enhance performance. A general production manager strategizes workforce policies, adhering to the company's guidelines and protocols, and resolves production discrepancies as soon as they arise.

What does a supervisor do?

Supervisors are responsible for overseeing the daily functions of employees in a specific team, department, or even a work shift. They create work schedules, organize work processes and workflows, train new hires, provide necessary reports related to the team function and the employees, monitor and evaluate employee performance, and ensure that goals of the specific team or department are met. When needed, supervisors also provide guidance to employees in terms of their career or even personal challenges. They also help in fostering harmonious work relationships by resolving interpersonal conflicts at work. To be successful in their role, they must have leadership skills, time management skills, decision-making capabilities, analytical skills, and problem-solving skills.

General production manager vs supervisor salary

General production managers and supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

General Production ManagerSupervisor
Average salary$32,434$53,902
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $40,000Between $31,000 And $92,000
Highest paying CityRochester, NYNew York, NY
Highest paying stateWyomingAlaska
Best paying companyTitan InternationalReed Smith
Best paying industryFinanceHealth Care

Differences between general production manager and supervisor education

There are a few differences between a general production manager and a supervisor in terms of educational background:

General Production ManagerSupervisor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 40%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

General production manager vs supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between general production managers' and supervisors' demographics:

General Production ManagerSupervisor
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 73.3% Female, 26.7%Male, 55.8% Female, 44.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.7% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 4.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between general production manager and supervisor duties and responsibilities

General production manager example responsibilities.

  • Demonstrate ability to manage multiple departments and improvement projects, prepare short and long term goals focusing on company KPI's.
  • Manage production control group and supply replenishment logistics for the manufacturing division.
  • Facilitate monthly safety meetings and ensure compliance with HACCP, SSOP and GMP.
  • Return work environment within OSHA standards.
  • Provide support for ISO 2001 plant accreditation.
  • Pack finished products manually or by using hoists.
  • Show more

Supervisor example responsibilities.

  • Lead continuous process improvement and six sigma teams to meet ISO 9001 and QS 9000 standards.
  • Manage and implement merchandising strategy for POS marketing and display inventory.
  • Lead comprehensive training for each new volunteer or court-mandate worker regarding OSHA regulations and warehouse procedure.
  • Organize care with 6 CNAs.
  • Coordinate lifeguard duty schedule for all pools.
  • Maintain cleanliness throughout kitchen, coolers, and freezer areas.
  • Show more

General production manager vs supervisor skills

Common general production manager skills
  • General Production, 32%
  • Food Safety, 28%
  • Hand Tools, 12%
  • HR, 4%
  • Quality Standards, 3%
  • Production Floor, 2%
Common supervisor skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Safety Procedures, 9%
  • Sales Floor, 9%
  • POS, 9%
  • Direct Supervision, 9%
  • Payroll, 5%

Browse production and manufacturing jobs