At the 2025 ABA Annual Conference in Flagstaff, one of the most talked-about sessions wasn’t a keynote, but a panel. Workforce Avengers – Assembling Solutions Together brought leaders from TDIndustries, Delta Diversified, and Suntec Concrete together with moderator Marion Hughes to tackle the industry’s biggest challenge: workforce development and retention.
The session was contractor-to-contractor, filled with hard truths, practical solutions, and plenty of honest dialogue. Here are the takeaways Arizona builders should be thinking about:
1. Building Your Own Talent Pipeline
Panelists agreed: the skills gap isn’t going to solve itself. While there’s no shortage of applicants, there’s a shortage of qualified applicants. Companies are investing heavily in in-house training programs, from craft labor all the way through leadership tracks.
- Clear growth paths are critical: workers want to see not just where they start, but what skills they’ll earn and how their pay will progress.
- Hands-on mentoring by journeymen and foremen is still the most effective training method. Passing on tribal knowledge keeps institutional expertise alive.
IT Perspective: IT systems can reinforce these pipelines. Builders can use learning management platforms, digital skills tracking, and even gamified mobile apps to show employees their progress and next milestones. Think “career path dashboards” as common as safety dashboards.
2. Bridging Generational Differences
One theme echoed across the panel: the younger generation values different things. They often expect flexibility, clear direction, and quicker rewards, while older leaders grew up in a culture of long hours and delayed gratification.
- Recruiting is shifting: social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram reels are proving to be surprisingly effective at attracting young eyes.
- Cultural alignment matters: leaders acknowledged the shift toward dual-income households, where work-life balance isn’t just a perk, it’s a necessity.
IT Perspective: Contractors who want to connect with Gen Z and millennials can showcase their technology culture as a recruiting advantage. Highlighting tools like tablets in the field, drones, BIM modeling, and collaboration platforms makes construction more attractive to digital natives.
3. Retention: Beyond Paychecks
Money still matters, but panelists pointed out that compensation alone won’t fix retention. Workers want a vision: what their career, retirement, and future can look like if they stay.
- Several Arizona companies are exploring ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) to create long-term wealth-building for employees.
- Others are leaning into performance-based incentives tied to budgets and productivity, not just hours worked.
- Leaders stressed the need for regular performance conversations to create clarity and avoid the “unknowns” that drive people to jump ship.
IT Perspective: Modern HR and IT tools can automate retention levers: performance dashboards, recognition systems, and predictive analytics to flag employees at risk of leaving before they walk out the door.
4. Compliance, Wages, and Federal Work
The panel dug into the complexities of federal wage reporting, worker classification, and prevailing wage compliance. For many, this is a resource drain that requires precision.
IT Perspective: This is an area where IT automation shines. Systems can handle LCP tracker uploads, classification checks, and payroll integrations with far fewer errors than manual processes, reducing compliance risk and freeing up time for workforce development.
5. The Role of Technology & AI
Interestingly, the conversation turned to technology itself. Panelists compared AI to the arrival of email: not replacing jobs, but speeding everything up. Examples included:
- AI-driven quality control, like using microphones to detect equipment issues.
- Accelerated delivery of 2D drawings and project approvals.
- Prefabrication opportunities to take work off the jobsite.
IT Perspective: Builders should view AI not as a threat, but as a productivity multiplier. Early adoption in areas like estimating, scheduling, and compliance reporting can give contractors an edge.
6. Recruitment Beyond the Usual Channels
The panel encouraged looking outside traditional pipelines: military-to-trade programs, multilingual recruiting, and partnerships with ABA’s own workforce initiatives. These efforts aren’t just about filling seats, they’re about building resilience into the workforce.
Takeaways for Arizona Builders
- Build structured, transparent training programs that show clear career paths.
- Embrace technology as a recruiting and retention advantage, not just a jobsite tool.
- Recognize and adapt to generational shifts in expectations around culture and balance.
- Automate compliance and wage reporting to protect margins.
- Explore ownership and incentive models that tie employees to long-term success.
The Workforce Avengers panel reminded us: awareness of the labor challenge isn’t enough. Action is required. Contractors who innovate in training, culture, and technology will lead the way.
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If Conversations about workforce development, retention, and operational excellence discussed by industry leaders in an open forum interests you, be sure to join us at our upcoming webinar and learn the habits of the top 2% of builders! Bring some questions you’d like us to address.
