How to hire a production employee

How to hire a production employee, step by step

Here's a step-by-step production employee hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a production employee job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new production employee
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a production employee do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a production employee, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a production employee to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a production employee that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of production employees and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Production Employee	Description	Hourly rate
   Production Employee		$12-20
   Finisher Operator	A finisher operator finalizes a product. They put on the final layer of paint, stitching, engraving or cloth on the product to complete it... Show more	$13-21
   Line Operator	A line operator is responsible for assisting in warehouse and factory operations, usually assigned on doing heavy works for the production. Line operators' duties include operating manufacturing machines and equipment, placing products on the appropriate shelves, checking supplies and inventories, loading orders for shipments, inspecting products for any defects, labeling products accurately, adhering to the safety procedures to prevent product contamination, and observing sanitary regulations... Show more	$12-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Production Floor
   • Quality Standards
   • Safety Standards
   • Work Ethic
   • Production Process
   • HACCP
   • Quality Products
   • Production Standards
   • Delivery Truck
   • Windows
   • Quality Inspection
   • Hand Tools
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Production Lines

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Accomplish collating training for revisions and charts.
   • Handle set up and operation of CNC mills and lathes for production.
   • Machine (CNC) axle shafts from a raw forging state to a finish product ready for final assembly.
   • Execute production activities as directed by supervisor, including performing GMP cell culture of biologic products using closed-system device.
   • Coordinate and participate in Kaizen cost improvement activities.

   More production employee duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the production employee job description is a good way to get more applicants. A production employee salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a production employee in South Carolina may be lower than in Minnesota, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level production employee. Additionally, a production employee with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average production employee salary

   $15.80hourly

   $32,872 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level production employee salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average production employee salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Ohio	$39,921	$19
   2	Washington	$39,040	$19
   3	North Dakota	$36,642	$18
   4	Indiana	$36,297	$17
   5	Missouri	$35,599	$17
   6	California	$34,927	$17
   7	Illinois	$34,589	$17
   8	Iowa	$34,384	$17
   9	Massachusetts	$34,240	$16
   10	Utah	$33,378	$16
   11	Wisconsin	$33,228	$16
   12	Arizona	$31,725	$15
   13	Pennsylvania	$29,538	$14
   14	Texas	$28,414	$14
   15	Michigan	$27,532	$13
   16	Tennessee	$26,174	$13

   Average production employee salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Steel Dynamics	$44,267	$21.28	10
   2	AK Steel	$41,773	$20.08
   3	Post Holdings	$40,787	$19.61	54
   4	Ingredion	$40,112	$19.28	3
   5	TreeHouse Foods	$39,465	$18.97	33
   6	International Paper	$38,936	$18.72	54
   7	Apogee Enterprises	$38,360	$18.44	7
   8	Idaho Forest Group	$38,344	$18.43	3
   9	Silgan Containers	$38,144	$18.34	17
   10	Kellogg	$37,913	$18.23
   11	Autocar Truck	$37,417	$17.99	2
   12	Silgan Holdings	$37,270	$17.92	2
   13	Domtar	$36,974	$17.78	2
   14	Donaldson	$36,755	$17.67	24
   15	Inteplast Group	$36,487	$17.54	2
   16	Malt-O-Meal	$35,975	$17.30
   17	Windsor Windows & Doors	$35,799	$17.21
   18	UniFirst	$34,969	$16.81	62
   19	PMX Industries	$34,960	$16.81	2
   20	Prohealth Corp	$34,763	$16.71

4. Writing a production employee job description

   A job description for a production employee role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a production employee job description:

   Production employee job description example

   Production - 1st shift

   Are you looking to be a vital asset to a winning team with a can-do attitude?

   Do you like working with your hands? Do you like be able to take pride in making quality products? If so, continue reading.

   Due to our continued growth, we are looking for self-driven individuals interested in joining a fast paced, hardworking home improvement company. Our company has been in business for over 40 years and we are looking for great people to contribute to the success of our organization, while keeping our credo of customer first and 100% satisfaction levels. We strive to create a company culture that fosters employee growth and development, while maintain a high level of customer service.

   Job Responsibilities:

   • Learning how to create high quality products by building with your hands
   • Experience numerous different products and what makes them up and pick what you like the most
   • Ability to be the challenge yourself to become a master craftsman.

   Required Skills

   • Effective communication with all levels of the organization
   • Listen and communicate with other production employees
   • Ability to work with your hands in building high quality craftsmanship
   • Ability to learn a skill in high demand
   • Good organizational skills
   • Understanding of Blueprints and design spaces

   This position provides a wide range of support to the production and installation teams, as well as other areas, and plays a crucial role in our efficient daily operations. The successful candidate will be motivated and self-driven to learn new concepts and by their contributions add value to the team.

   We offer competitive wages, and benefit package, including paid time off, health insurance, dental vision, 401k and company paid life insurance, as well as the opportunity to grow as our organization grows in the future.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find production employees for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your production employee job on Zippia to find and recruit production employee candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit production employees, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new production employee

   Once you've selected the best production employee candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a production employee?