Doing Differently, Epically

Ry Bostrom and Kayti Bjorklund-Strandlund, Co-founders of The Repurposed Educactor

These numbers should turn some heads.

In the three years that DW Companies has been in business, they have had a zero percent turnover rate once someone has been there for three months or more. In that same time span, they grew from five to 25 employees, 80 percent of whom are Gen Z and Millennials — the two generations that society claims to be the hardest to get to work. Additionally, DW has had zero work comp claims and zero OSHA violations. 

How are they doing it?

Culture. 

“It’s an investment just like technology or your backhoe. It costs time and money, but so does turnover and replacing employees constantly,” said Kayti Bjorklund-Strandlund, Co-founder of The Repurposed Educator, a subdivision of DW Companies. It emerged to ensure the intentional and focused work of creating and sustaining a positive culture. 

Kayti grew up in the construction world to parents who owned a ready-mix plant and now have an aggregate trucking company. Though they have been successful, Kayti was not encouraged to stay in the industry, as she is a part of the generation for whom college was the preferred option after high school. After 14 years in education, when things started to change in the classroom setting, she started to explore other career options. Kayti’s husband encouraged her to come to the “dirt” world. 

“I decided to take the leap. At that same time, my husband and four of his key leaders walked away from a company that had a toxic and stereotypical construction culture,” she said. “That group knew they could do better and made it their mission to build a successful company with a strong, positive culture.” 

That company turned out to be DW, a sitework and excavation company based in Minnesota. “Part of the agreement for me joining this venture was to put an emphasis on professional development for ALL team members,” said Kayti. “We knew we could do better by simply making some changes but knew it wouldn’t be sustained over time without intentional work. It has definitely been a journey pushing against so many stigmas, but so worth it.”

Kayti speaking to students during a Trade Talk.

Kayti has been on this journey with fellow Repurposed Educator Co-founder Ry Bostrom, a former special education teacher who initially joined DW Companies to handle social media and marketing. “When I started at DW, Kayti coined the term for us as repurposed educators,” said Ry. “She tossed around the idea that we could do something with our educational skillsets and experiences. I playfully created the logo, printed out two copies, and hung them in our office. I told Kayti that it was our vision board and that we were going to make it a thing someday.”

Today, DW is quickly becoming well-known for how they are redefining and cultivating site / workplace culture, challenging the notion that the construction industry is defined in part by yelling, hard lessons, and lack of emotion and vulnerability. “I think the biggest lesson so far has been just really how far behind in the industry we are on culture and the idea of investing in the people who make up the industry,” said Ry. “So many companies have no problem spending thousands and thousands of dollars on equipment and technology, but halt at the thought of investing in their people.”

“One of the things we really focus on is professional development within our team,” she continued. “This means getting our people to understand themselves and each other better through the use of personality indicators and team building. We also focus on specific areas like communication and conflict resolution and how best to interact with the people on your team based on their personality.”

Ry and Kayti build professional development days with the knowledge they gained from their careers in education. From the technology and engagement techniques they use to the activities they design, they compel their audience to actively learn and listen. “Giving your team members tangible and applicable tools that help them be even more successful in communicating in all aspects of their life helps them develop as a human,” said Kayti. “When we are better humans, it not only helps our work relationships but also our personal relationships. Ry and I are continuously following the work of experts in building cultures in organizations.”

They take what has been successful and tailor it to the construction industry and to their team. Every professional development session intends to address specific needs that they are seeing within the organization. A session is never a “box checker.”

Ry and Kayti speaking in the Community Zone at ConnExpo 2023.

The results? “Our team grew closer,” said Ry. “They started working better together. They began to understand each other.” 

In addition to professional development sessions, The Repurposed Educators facilitate Team Building events that allow office and field team members and often their families to connect via a structured activity or friendly competition and a meal. Team members are paid, and it is an expectation to attend. 

Buzz is certainly building about how they do business. Kayti and Ry spoke at ConExpo/ConAgg this year and were approached by many people excited about their message and business savvy. “We knew that we were doing things differently than many construction companies, especially in our area but we didn't realize how hungry this industry was for tools to support culture and workforce development,” said Kayti.

“What we are learning is there are many people talking about culture in our industry but there is a lack of tools, specific resources, and information on how to execute these.”

Nonetheless, there are still many in the industry that do not feel there is an issue with stigmas, toxic masculinity, or doing things as they have always been done. But the facts remain: the workforce is waning as the silver tsunami continues to wash through the industry. Suicide and addiction rates are remarkably high in this industry. “Businesses have to start looking at root causes,” said Ry. “We strongly believe that company and industry culture is much to blame for these statistics.”

“Most construction companies are struggling to find help. So, that is generally an avenue to open conversation about culture,” said Kayti. “If you are going to attract and retain the next generation, the ways we have always done it won’t cut it anymore.”

It’s time to do differently, epically.

Learn more about how here.