46 warehouse supervisor interview questions

Do you need a skilled warehouse supervisor for your team?

It’s not easy to hire the best talent, especially as there are many variables and responsibilities to acknowledge.

Some of the warehouse supervision skills your applicants should have include performing daily operations successfully, such as the prompt delivery of goods, the correct storage of goods, and also good leadership skills. They should also understand warehouse policies and operating procedures.

One bit of good news is that assessing applicants’ warehouse supervision skills can be simpler than you think. Using a combination of skills testing and a list of warehouse supervisor interview questions during interviews are excellent strategies.

In this article, you’ll find 46 warehouse supervisor interview questions you can ask your applicants to assess their skills and knowledge during the interview stage.

15 general warehouse supervisor interview questions

Ask your applicants these 15 general warehouse supervisor interview questions to gauge the extent of their knowledge and assess whether their skills align with the job requirements.

1. What do you hope to have achieved in three years?

2. What do you know about our organization?

3. What is your strongest skill that helps you be a successful warehouse supervisor?

4. Name three skills that are required for warehouse supervision.

5. Which skills do you need to improve?

6. Are you capable of working in an environment that requires physical work?

7. Describe the most significant achievement of your career.

8. Which soft skills are necessary for warehouse supervision?

9. Which soft skills do you need to work on?

10. Which managerial skills are essential for warehouse supervision?

11. How do you stay motivated as a warehouse supervisor?

12. How important is customer service in a warehouse role?

13. Describe what the lean six sigma method is.

14. Why are communication skills essential for a warehouse supervisor role?

15. Why are critical-thinking skills crucial for a warehouse supervisor role?

5 general warehouse supervisor interview questions and answers you should look for

Here are five general warehouse supervisor interview questions from the list above, along with sample responses you should look for during the interview.

1. How important is customer service in a warehouse role?

Applicants should know that although they wouldn’t speak to customers every day, they would need good customer service skills and knowledge to satisfy customers’ needs. Can they give an example of how their customer service skills have helped them excel in previous warehouse supervisor roles?

2. Describe what the lean six sigma method is.

Can your applicants explain that the lean six sigma method involves using tools to enhance the capability and efficiency of business processes? Are they aware of other benefits of the lean six sigma methodology, such as reducing defects and ensuring the flow of materials from organizations to customers is uninterrupted?

3. Why are communication skills essential for a warehouse supervisor role?

Some of the responsibilities of warehouse supervisors include explaining job expectations and monitoring other warehouse employees. To take on these responsibilities, applicants should know that excellent communication skills can help them supervise their team more efficiently.

4. Why are critical-thinking skills crucial for a warehouse supervisor role?

Critical-thinking skills are required in warehouse supervision  to comply with safety standards successfully, perform system reviews, and implement improvements. 

5. Which soft skills are necessary for warehouse supervision?

A few essential soft skills required to complete warehouse supervision duties include:

• Time management: Can your applicants explain that time management, task delegation, and task prioritization are vital in warehouse supervision?

• Problem-solving skills: Are your applicants aware that problem-solving skills can make conflict resolution and equipment troubleshooting easier to manage?

• Communication skills: Do your applicants know that explaining job requirements to warehouse employees requires excellent communication skills?

13 warehouse supervisor interview questions related to experience

Learn whether your applicants’ experience aligns with your organization’s requirements by asking them some of the 13 warehouse supervisor interview questions in this section.

1. Describe your experience with warehouse supervision so far.

2. Which strategies have you used to develop your technical or logistical knowledge?

3. What is your least favorite warehouse supervision responsibility?

4. What is your favorite warehouse supervision responsibility?

5. Are there any metrics that you use to review employee performance?

6. What is the highest number of warehouse team members that you have supervised?

7. How many employees do you currently supervise?

8. Which warehouse management software are you familiar with?

9. Why have you decided to leave your role with your current organization?

10. Describe your style of warehouse supervision.

11. Have you ever developed a plan for a warehouse team to help them complete their duties?

12. Have you ever mentored or coached an employee?

13. Describe a time you had to use problem-solving skills to handle a shipping issue.

5 warehouse supervisor interview questions and answers related to experience 

Here are five of the above warehouse supervisor interview questions related to your applicants’ past experiences, along with sample answers you should listen for.

1. Have you ever mentored or coached an employee?

Since coaching is a critical part of warehouse supervision, ensure that your applicants have the right coaching skills and can provide an example of their coaching experience. For example, do they know how to offer constructive feedback? Do they have coaching methods that align with your requirements?

2. Have you ever developed a plan for a warehouse team to help them complete their duties?

Candidates should be able to explain which processes they use to develop plans for  their teams. Do they know that setting priorities, determining objectives, and establishing milestones are essential for successfully managing warehouse teams?

3. Describe a time you had to use problem-solving skills to handle a shipping issue.

Problem-solving skills are essential for warehouse supervisors. Your applicants should demonstrate their ability to use problem-solving skills to ship goods or products efficiently.

For instance, if they could not fit the products onto trucks, they may have used problem-solving skills to adjust the bales and place them in different positions.

4. Describe your style of warehouse supervision.

Since every scenario requires a different approach, your candidates’ style of warehouse supervision may not be the same for every situation.

Do your candidates’ warehouse supervision styles match the scenario they are in – and your requirements for the role you’re looking to fill? Can they adapt to different situations and manage a diverse team of warehouse employees with the right supervision style?

5. Describe your warehouse supervision experience so far.

Candidates should outline their responsibilities and experience when answering this question.

Look for answers that demonstrate similar skills, knowledge, and responsibilities to your open role. If your applicants don’t have a similar experience to your requirements, consider applicants willing to learn and adapt.

18 situational warehouse supervisor interview questions 

Ask your applicants these 18 situational warehouse supervisor interview questions to learn how they respond to challenging work-related situations in a warehouse environment.

1. How would you motivate a team of warehouse employees?

2. Describe how you would give feedback to warehouse employees.

3. You are informed that there may be a shipping delay. How would you handle this situation?

4. Which approaches would you take to acknowledge and manage warehouse workflow changes?

5. If you were asked to reduce costs, which methods would you use?

6. Have you ever made a mistake while supervising a warehouse? How did you rectify it?

7. Name three task prioritization methods you use for warehouse supervision?

8. How would you hire new employees for our warehouse?

9. Have you ever contributed to vendor contract negotiation? Which method did you use?

10. You notice that an employee has decided not to complete a task. How would you handle this?

11. How do you handle high-pressure situations?

12. Which method do you use to delegate tasks as a warehouse supervisor?

13. How do you communicate with superiors, and how frequently do you speak to them?

14. How do you communicate with underperforming employees?

15. Have you ever experienced an emergency in the warehouse? What did you do to handle it?

16. How would you ensure that the work environment is safe at all times?

17. How would you handle a situation where you have to share bad news with the warehouse team?

18. How would you enhance the efficiency of the order fulfillment process?

5 situational warehouse supervisor interview questions and answers

Here are five of the situational warehouse supervisor interview questions above, along with sample answers you should listen for during the interview.

1. How do you communicate with underperforming employees?

Do your applicants have the right communication skills, tact, and coaching abilities to help underperforming employees be more efficient? For example, can they determine why a warehouse employee may be underperforming and resolve the situation with insightful suggestions?

2. How would you hire new employees for our warehouse?

Seasoned warehouse supervisor candidates may mention that skills testing is an important part of hiring new employees for your warehouse. They may also suggest a list of sample interview questions to learn more about their applicants’ values, experience, qualifications, and personalities.

3. How would you enhance the efficiency of the order fulfillment process?

Applicants should know the value of warehouse management systems and order fulfillment technology. Can they explain the advantages of such technology for order fulfillment and explain that organizations can save time and money when using them?

4. You notice that an employee has decided not to complete a task. How would you handle this?

Handling disagreements in the warehouse is an important skill for warehouse supervisors. Your applicants should know that diffusing conflicts is important.

Look for applicants who communicate with the employee to determine why they decided not to complete the task. Applicants may also learn that delegation is a critical part of warehouse supervision and use the situation to learn how to delegate tasks more efficiently.

5. Which method do you use to delegate tasks as a warehouse supervisor?

Knowing the strengths and skills of each warehouse team member is critical for effective supervision and delegation.

Can your applicants show that they know how to delegate efficiently by acknowledging the strengths of each worker? Do they understand why this is a critical part of the task delegation process?

At which stage should you use these warehouse supervisor interview questions?

Never jump to the interview stage straight away. Instead, use this list of warehouse supervisor interview questions after your applicants have completed a skills assessment, which you should distribute as early as possible in the hiring process.

Completing the hiring process in this order will help you:

• Mitigate the chances of hiring the wrong warehouse supervisor

• Reduce your time to hire

• Enhance the objectivity of your hiring process

• Think of new questions for the interview stage

• Provide accurate feedback for candidates you haven’t chosen

• Reduce bias thanks to expert-crafted skills assessments

3 important hard skills to consider when hiring warehouse supervisors

You should consider three critical hard skills when hiring a warehouse supervisor for your organization: leadership, data entry management, and safety management skills.

1. Leadership skills

To ensure the warehouse team functions efficiently, your applicants should demonstrate strong leadership and people management skills, such as task delegation, planning, providing timely guidance and feedback, and hiring new staff.

Applicants should show that they understand how to identify and make use of their team members’ skills and assess applicants’ skills when hiring.

2. Data entry management

Candidates should understand how to use software tools to manage data entry and view the inventory count. They should also be confident when checking for and addressing inventory discrepancies.

3. Safety management

Ensuring your team’s environment is safe is a critical responsibility your next warehouse supervisor will have. Do they understand protocols and are they able to reinforce safe working practices to maintain a safe environment?

Further reading: How to write a warehouse supervisor job description

Assess your candidates with the right list of warehouse supervisor interview questions

As you can see, there are many skills that you should look for when assessing candidates who have applied for your open role for a warehouse supervisor.

However, you can simplify the hiring process with skills tests (and especially a Warehouse Supervisor test) and the right warehouse supervisor interview questions.

Avoid costly mis-hires: Hire an expert warehouse supervisor with the right communication, leadership, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills for your team with the warehouse supervisor interview questions in this article.

With TestGorilla, you’ll find the recruitment process to be simpler, faster, and much more effective. Get started for free today and start making better hiring decisions, faster and bias-free.