How Data Strengthens Retention beyond Recruitment

Dan Lester, Vice President of Field Culture and Inclusion, Clayco

Dan Lester, Vice President of Field Culture and Inclusion, Clayco

Dan Lester has spent over a decade shaping careers in the construction industry. Now serving as Vice President of Field Culture and Inclusion at Clayco, Lester’s focus is on retention, mentorship and creating the conditions. Today, Lester continues to guide Clayco’s field culture. His approach blends data-driven decision-making with a deep respect for the human side of construction, ensuring that every innovation serves both the project and the people behind it.

Through this article, Lester explains that retention is just as crucial as recruitment in the construction industry. With an aging workforce and shifting expectations for apprentices, he emphasizes the use of real-time data to monitor morale, safety and well-being.

The Retention Crisis Nobody Talks About

Construction hasn’t figured out retention and that’s our real crisis. We can hire people. What we cannot do is keep them long enough to build the expertise our industry desperately needs. It takes years to develop a skilled tradesperson and when they leave, we lose that investment entirely. I’ve learned that technology matters less than what we do with it. The question isn’t whether we can collect data. The question is whether we can translate that data into meaningful support that makes people want to stay.

Early warning systems become possible when you track the right signals. We can identify apprentices at risk of dropping out before they make that decision. We can spot patterns among younger workers contemplating exits from the industry altogether. AI helps us design interventions, but only if we deliver those resources in ways that feel practical rather than performative. The real challenge lies in adapting these tools across a workforce where every project team and subcontractor operates according to different norms. Technology has to meet people where they work, not where we wish they worked.

Adoption Defeats Innovation Every Time

I’ve discovered something counterintuitive about real-time analytics. The tools exist. They work. Yet companies still fail to implement them successfully and the problem is never the technology itself.

Construction teams operate under relentless timelines with massive financial stakes. They’ve refined their methods over decades, which means any new approach carries perceived risk. You can pilot successfully. You can secure executive approval for company-wide rollout. Then you encounter the actual barrier, which is asking field crews to change their daily routines. New hires adapt easily because they lack preconceptions. Experienced workers reasonably question why they should abandon methods that have delivered results for years.

“Success comes from visibility combined with responsiveness. Real-time data reveals what’s actually happening rather than what we assume is happening. Faster adjustments become possible. Support reaches both people and projects in ways that sustain forward momentum rather than merely maintaining the status quo.”

This is where most organizations, including ours, hit resistance. People may find the technology unreasonable. They may refuse to invest time in learning it. Unexpected complications emerge during real-world deployment that testing never revealed. The focus has to shift from building better tools to understanding why people reject them.

Measuring What Actually Matters

Some emerging technologies are changing what we can know about our workforce in real time. Software now exists that captures employee morale directly at job sites. Kiosks record how workers are feeling throughout their shifts and that emotional data correlates with safety incidents. When morale remains low for consecutive days, injury risk climbs predictably. Holiday seasons bring distraction and injuries spike accordingly. Technology gives us the ability to track these patterns and respond before someone gets hurt.

We’re piloting systems that reveal day-to-day struggles with mental health, time management and general wellbeing. Instead of discovering problems weeks later, we can deploy resources immediately. Toolbox talks, field culture teams and targeted support reach people when they need it rather than when we finally notice. This matters profoundly in an industry where mental health challenges run deep and suicide rates remain tragically high. Real-time feedback creates communication loops that keep workers connected, especially after major incidents. Mobile delivery of micro-learning and quick resources means support lives in everyone’s pocket.

Building Culture Through Data at Clayco

Real-time information has become central to how we operate and improve. Monthly meetings with apprentices and site teams generate immediate feedback on training effectiveness, workplace challenges and morale trends. We share that intelligence directly with owners, clients and project leaders so they can act without delay. It’s already moving the needle on apprenticeship completion, which historically hovers around 65 percent. Understanding worker needs as they emerge creates an environment where people choose to build careers rather than simply fill positions.

QR codes on job sites connect workers instantly to mental health resources and surveys, creating another feedback mechanism for tracking wellness and ensuring support availability when it matters most.

Our drone program exemplifies how real-time analytics drives better project outcomes. Twice-weekly flights capture evolving site conditions, topography changes and emerging safety risks. Clients review week-over-week progress comparisons, while our teams identify problems like elevation shifts or hazards before they escalate into costly delays.

Success comes from visibility combined with responsiveness. Real-time data reveals what’s actually happening rather than what we assume is happening. Faster adjustments become possible. Support reaches both people and projects in ways that sustain forward momentum rather than merely maintaining the status quo. The future belongs to companies that can close the gap between knowing and doing.

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