Most people probably don’t know how Chicagoland Skydiving Center (CSC) transforms literally the day after we close down skydiving operations in late October/early November.
WHY MANIFEST MATTERS
At any dropzone, the manifest staff is an important part of the operation. Organization, efficiency, and friendliness must be at the core of what this department is all about. The right people and processes in place can mean flying a few extra loads, avoiding an unnecessary start on the engine, creating positive energy in your facility, and ensuring you don't burn a drop of extra fuel in the loading area waiting for your fun jumpers.
Manifest is a fast paced, high pressure environment, and requires a lot of simultaneous task management. But sometimes these employees don't get the help or attention they need from their managers in order to succeed. At CSC, everything we do in this department is designed to do one fundamental thing: enable manifest to do their job without any internal roadblocks. We share our system of hiring, training, and retaining manifest staff in this article, with the hope we may help other dzs enjoy the benefits we've seen from a great manifest team.
This company has evolved quite a bit since I launched it back in December 2000. Back then, I had a business partner, we were leasing aircraft, we were operating out of a different airport, we had virtually no facilities to speak of, we employed only seasonal staff (usually different people each year), and no idea how to actually run a business - clearly, all of the key ingredients for a successful endeavor!
Chicagoland Skydiving Center relocated from its original location in Hinckley, IL to the Rochelle Municipal Airport in Rochelle, IL in the spring of 2011. This move marked a major shift in the business. The fresh start in a new location provided the opportunity to realize a vision for creating the best place in the world to skydive.
