Jeff Ellis comes to ASTP with a decades-long history of success in human resources, risk management, and environmental compliance. He not only brings his extensive knowledge and experience to the role, but also a genuine care for the well-being of all ASTP and partner employees. In this Q&A, we explore the ways in which Jeff’s passion for people bleeds into everything he does at ASTP, as well as his unique perspective on the student transportation industry.
Q: Explain briefly what your role as Chief People Officer at ASTP entails. Do you have a favorite part of your job?
A: In my role I’m involved in all things People and Safety related to support of the operating company leaders and front-line employees. Shaping overall policy, procedures and strategy is the core of the role, but in our mid-size company it also involves tactical, day to day work—we are all “player managers” to some extent. My favorite part of the job is being out in the field with our drivers, monitors, mechanics, and front-line leaders—seeing what they do, hearing from them about what’s working and what’s not, and helping transform their ideas and feedback into action.
Q: How have your experiences in environmental compliance, insurance, human resources, and risk management both in and out of the transportation sector, given you a unique perspective on the industry?
A: I came to HR later in my career after work experiences in multiple functional areas of business, including compliance, operations, sales and marketing, and safety. This gave me a broad perspective that’s helpful when addressing talent and people issues. Knowing what leaders in our front-line operations and functional areas are dealing with from personal experience helps me understand their perspective and allows me to partner with them to create practical solutions to business problems. And having seen “what good looks like” in other industries and larger companies has given me the ability to look at our industry and company with fresh eyes and develop unique strategies that have elevated our practices, processes, and culture.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges facing student transportation right now?
A: Securing and retaining talented employees is probably the most common problem talked about as an industry challenge and a top priority for us. This is a highly rewarding business, but as with any business it can also be very challenging. At ASTP and our operating companies (Krise and Assisted) we all focus on R2E: Recruitment, Retention, and Engagement. It’s people that drive the business and make excellent service to our customers and communities possible.
I believe we are ahead of the curve and we put into practice what other companies may only talk about. From annual engagement surveys that demonstrate high levels of response and employee satisfaction, to leading-edge recognition and employee celebration programs like our HEROES Bus and Broadcast Channel, to career-building investment in our people through our HEROES Leadership Academy—we are “putting our money where our mouth is” and delivering for our people.
Close behind talent and staffing of course is the challenge of technology. Technology is all around us today and moving from a paper-based world to a tech-enabled world is still a challenge in our industry. Moving with purpose and innovating come naturally to ASTP based on the entrepreneurial nature of our operating companies. We select and deploy technology the customer actually wants and that our front-line employees need to succeed.
The challenge is in preparing the workforce for change and helping them with adopting new processes and technology. We’ve worked hard to develop both an ethos of constant improvement, and a culture of grace and patience while our teams learn new ways to operate and seek out ways to help them upskill for the future. Teamwork is critical – we are seeing our “digital natives” and early adopters helping other team members along on the journey.
Q: Do you see any opportunities for innovation and growth in the industry?
A: There are opportunities for innovation and growth in every business and industry. One of the ways ASTP and our operating companies have succeeded is by bringing in a diverse set of leaders who have experience and points of view from multiple other businesses and industries. That has allowed us to try new ideas, adapt new practices and processes from other successful businesses and industries and deliver excellence in service to our customers.
Change is happening all around us, and at ASTP we remain nimble even as we grow and are bringing innovative ways to deliver what our employees, customers, and communities want. I am very interested to see where AI-supported workflow innovation takes us over the next few years. The student transportation business is full of repeatable, high frequency tasks and operational workflows that could be enhanced by this new technology and deliver time savings for employees and front-line leaders that can be redirected into higher value, impactful efforts.
Q: From your perspective, what makes ASTP different from other transportation service companies?
A: The magic in any business that is people-focused is in “feeling small” as you are growing large. People are attracted to and often decide to stay at a business when they feel a part of it, or that they can have discernable impact. And that is achieved when there are limited roadblocks to doing their best work, and low levels of bureaucracy that impede creativity and innovation. At ASTP and our operating companies, we leverage our scale to bring the structure, resources, and capabilities of a large company while still giving our line leaders and teams the latitude to stay “hyper-local” and deliver customized and relevant programs and services to their customers and communities.
Q: In your current role as CPO with ASTP, what have you identified as priority areas of focus for 2025 and beyond?
A: At ASTP each of our functional area leaders have developed a 5-year excellence plan that aligns with our growth plans. We assess where we are on our “journey to excellence” and ensure we are moving along our roadmap. Then we line up new areas of focus and key initiatives each year to drive the business forward and give our teams the tools to succeed.
I’m very excited for a couple of AI-supported initiatives we are working on in the coming year – one to improve accident and claims reporting using digital avatars to speed up reporting and capture data for safety analytics, and a similar initiative to get proof of concept on AI-supported employee hiring and on-boarding processes to improve candidate experience and hiring velocity.
Q: Any final predictions for the next 12 months?
A: Continued challenges around driver and employee recruitment and general input cost pressures (vehicles, insurance etc…) are likely to continue in the industry. The best operators, like ASTP, will continue to innovate and generate novel and locally focused solutions that deliver for our employees and customers. And, as our history demonstrates, we’ll be connecting with fellow contractors to help relieve some of these burdens and allow them to continue their business legacies and community service as one of ASTPs operating partners.
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Ready to learn more about how ASTP is driving the future of student transportation? Reach out to us.
American Student Transportation Partners (ASTP) is a national network of reliable student transportation providers, ensuring better access to education through safe, dependable student transportation programs. Exceptional bus operators choose ASTP because of our innovative approach to partnership, as well as the resources we provide to help “future-proof” their operations.
To learn more about partnering with ASTP, contact Nick Tierno, Director of Corporate Development, at ntierno@astpartners.com.