Behavioral Science Meets Construction: Insights from Whistle Rewards

In this episode of the AEC Business Podcast, Aarni Heiskanen hosts Drew Carter, CEO of Whistle Rewards, and Dr. Laurel Newman, a behavioral scientist, to discuss instant rewards for driving behavioral change in construction. Laurel shares her psychology background and academic career, studying how the environment influences behavior. Drew introduces himself as a data scientist, focusing on predictive modeling. Tune in to learn how they collaborate to create motivating environments in the construction industry. Whistle Rewards is a platform specializing in rewards, recognition, and incentives in the AEC industry. It is designed to enhance employee engagement, safety compliance, performance, and technology adoption in construction companies. The guests Drew Carter, CEO and Co-Founder at Whistle Systems, Inc. Drew is improving employee retention using data science and behavioral science. Whistle has developed innovative rewards, recognition, and incentive technology for US and European clients. Whistle is reducing turnover and improving performance for clients in healthcare, construction, banking, and other industries. Previously, Drew ran Maritz Motivation, the largest global provider of customer loyalty software (for clients such as Marriott Bonvoy and Southwest Rapid Rewards), serving over 500 million customers. He is passionate about improving work-life for clients, employees, and customers. Laurel Newman, Ph.D., Lead Behavioral Scientist, Co-Founder at Whistle Systems, Inc. Laurel is a behavioral scientist specializing in applying motivation research to improve the effectiveness of compensation, incentive, recognition, and reward programs. After earning a Ph.D. in Social and Personality Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, she spent 12 years as professor and Chair of the Dept of Behavioral Sciences at a small Liberal Arts University. She is the author of several articles and chapters and co-editor of two books, including “Building Behavioral Science in an Organization.” She has created and delivered an enterprise-wide behavioral science curriculum and designed, conducted, and published experiments with various organizations. She is a co-founder of Whistle Rewards. Listen to the interview and subscribe on you favorite podcast platform