Dr. Robert Rustman

Dr. Robert Rustman heads Human Resources at LRS (Lakeshore Recycling Systems), bringing nearly two decades of HR leadership experience, including prior roles at Comcast and Securitas in HR business partnership and DE&I. He holds a PhD and has focused on aligning people strategy with business growth, throughout his career.

Improving teammates’ quality of life at work begins with knowing what their working day is really like. Dr. Robert Rustman makes it a priority to be visibly present among workers and understand their experiences first-hand. This presence is particularly significant in the waste and recycling industry, where much of the workforce spends its day on the front line, working in physically demanding conditions.

An important part of that effort is ensuring operational leaders can do more than just hear teammates’ concerns. Dr. Rustman wants them to have the tools to respond and make a difference in their teams’ everyday working lives. His goal is to make LRS a place where teammates feel welcome, valued and can see a future for themselves.

A Listening Process That Turns Feedback into Action

One way LRS understands teammates’ experiences and identifies areas that need attention is through its annual teammate engagement survey. Leaders review the responses, identify actionable goals and share the findings with their teams. Teammates are then invited to contribute their ideas, and leaders work on those priorities throughout the year.

Dr. Rustman also values LRS’s partnership with ADP Lyric, an Human Capital Management Systemthat gives operational leaders access to dashboards showing turnover and retention trends. The dashboards help leaders track what is happening within their teams and identify areas that need attention.

The improvement is evident in LRS’s retention figures. Over two years, teammate turnover fell from 45 percent to 28 percent, a milestone Dr. Rustman considers significant. The reduction has helped LRS save on recruitment costs, but to him, it also shows the value of leaders listening to their teams, feeling empowered to act and making teammates feel more welcome at work.

Caring for Teammates’ Safety and Financial Well-Being

For Dr. Rustman, keeping teammates safe is an important part of caring for them, especially in an industry where many spend their working days operating trucks and heavy equipment.

At LRS, safety is an ongoing conversation. The safety team holds weekly safety meetings with organizational leaders and HR partenrs, who then carry those discussions into their respective teams. LRS also uses Third Eye, an in-vehicle camera system that provides visibility into driver behaviour on the road. Teammates have access to appropriate protective equipment, safe trucks and clear channels to raise safety concerns.

" It is super important for us to be visibly present. "

Dr. Rustman’s attention to employee well-being extends beyond the workplace to their financial security. As teammates identified financial wellness as an important consideration when choosing where to work, the HR team provides resources that address both immediate and longer-term needs. Through Fidelity, a financial services company, LRS offers educational webinars, training sessions, and one-on-one counseling on 401(k) savings. To support teammates with more immediate financial needs, the company has introduced Chime Workplace. The platform allows them to access wages they have already earned before payday, which can help during unexpected moments. Chime also provides guided tools and resources to help teammates manage their finances and develop better financial habits.

Helping Teammates Find Their Place and Grow

As LRS grows through acquisitions, Dr. Rustman wants incoming teammates to feel welcome and see themselves as part of its future. He introduces them to the company’s values of sustainability, safety and social impact, while ensuring they have a voice in how the organization moves forward.

Recognizing teammates for their contributions is an important part of building that culture. Its quarterly, peer-nominated GRIT Awards celebrate teammates who demonstrate the qualities of Genuine, Relentless, Inspirational and Teamwork. The company presents Teammate of the Year awards and brings teammates together through community initiatives.

Teammate growth is another significant part of the culture LRS is building. Dr. Rustman focuses on providing development opportunities that help teammates grow in their current roles while preparing them for the next stage of their careers.

Through LEAD, operations supervisors and managers develop practical leadership skills and habits, using real-world examples they can apply in their roles. For L2 leaders, the Scale program offers 360-degree feedback and coaching to help them plan their next career steps.

LRS has also established a 12-month General Manager in Training program for internal and external candidates, with a similar initiative underway for shop managers. Alongside these programs, the company uses nine-box talent management and succession planning to identify teammates with leadership potential and prepare them for future roles.

That support continues once teammates step into management. The HR team provides onboarding and mentoring for both newly hired and internally promoted leaders. It also seeks feedback from frontline managers about the challenges they faced, using their experiences to better understand what new leaders need.

Keeping the Human Connection in HR

As technology becomes a greater part of HR, Dr. Rustman wants it to improve teammates’ experiences without losing the human connection. His team regularly shares feedback with ADP Lyric to ensure its AI capabilities are thoughtfully integrated and reflect the experience LRS wants for its teammates.

The HR department has also begun using Claude for tasks such as data-related work. While Dr. Rustman encourages his team to explore AI, he emphasizes the need to check its output before sharing their work. Technology can support teammates, but human judgment remains essential.

Beyond technology, Dr. Rustman believes effective HR leadership requires a genuine understanding of the people and the business. He encourages aspiring leaders to engage with executives and frontline teammates alike, contribute to important conversations rather than simply take instructions and bring their whole selves to work. Compassion and courage, he believes, are essential to doing the job well.

Ultimately, he looks at leadership through the experiences of those it serves. Are frontline teammates happy, engaged and genuinely willing to remain with the organization? Their experiences, he believes, reveal what distinguishes one HR executive from another.

It is a belief Dr. Rustman strives to uphold at LRS, where the true measure of his leadership is not simply how visible he is, but how deeply his presence is felt in the lives of its people.