GHI AWARDS PROFILE
STAR QUALITY
Sofi ya Maksymchuk achieved the Rising Star accolade in the GHI Pride of Ground
Handling Awards 2019. Felicity Stredder spoke to her about the win.
At the 21st Annual GHI conference,
Station Manager for US-based ground
handler Airport Terminal Services,
So ya Maksymchuk, received the award
for Rising Star. Maksymchuk has indeed
risen through the ranks at impressive speed
since joining ATS six years ago, already
holding the positions of Passenger Service
Agent, Supervisor and Training O cer and,
since the start of 2019, Station Manager at
Toronto Pearson airport. GHI took a closer
look at her winning credentials.
Notable accolades
Maksymchuk’s colleagues provide a
glowing review of her workplace ethic. As
a keen learner and leader, her dedication
to furthering her career has seen her go
the extra mile. When a lack of rst-hand
experience threatened to hinder her
e ectiveness as a leader, Maksymchuk
quickly became quali ed to work on the
ramp, loading bags alongside the workers
in her charge, to better understand the daily
challenges they faced. As well as working
early mornings and late nights on the ramp
without letting her management duties fall
by the wayside, Maksymchuk has upheld
ATS’ focus on employee satisfaction,
taking the time to listen to team members’
concerns as well as rewarding hard work
in a variety of ways. Her e orts have led to
a culture shi in the organisation, reports
ATS, bringing a mutual respect and better
understanding of her expectations by
her team – which has ultimately led to a
reduction in bag o oading times and a
decrease in delays.
As well as bringing about improvement
in general workplace attitude and
productivity, one of the key reasons behind
Sofi ya Maksymchuk (centre)
stands with Aeromexico team
as Safety & Training Offi cer
Maksymchuk’s nomination for the award
was her proactive solution to ATS’ biggest
ongoing problem: that of sta turnover.
Maintaining appropriate sta ng levels and
the cost of training new sta has been a
growing issue for the handler, exacerbated
by a glut of part-time roles. ese were the
product of multiple contracts for oncedaily
operations. Maksymchuk personally
devised and implemented a programme for
team members seeking full-time positions
by o ering them the opportunity to be
cross-trained across multiple contracts.
A er ascertaining a demand for the
programme, Maksymchuk studied ATS’
ight schedules to identify ights that would
slot into the programme, without neglecting
any contracts or leaving too much downtime;
she then began scheduling employees for
training across multiple airlines while
maintaining regular operations, before
devising a nal schedule to bring all these
elements together. Upon implementation,
cross-trained team members were able to
give up their second job.
Maksymchuk explains what inspired her
to introduce cross training. “O ering cross
“It’s a very dynamic
industry with the ability to
always try new things and
challenge yourself to do
be er”
Sofi ya Maksymchuk
Station Manager, ATS
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