James Alexander Consulting LLC
Compensation Advisory Services
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”– William Bruce Cameron Why do we find numbers so comforting? Perhaps because they give shape to uncertainty. When something is measured, it feels secure and understandable. Psychologist Arie Kruglanski called this the need for "cognitive closure"—the desire for firm answers... Continue Reading →
After many years of thinking about it, I finally sat down last year to start writing this book. Why a book? Writing forces me to take the fragmented nonsense floating around in my head and organize it. It forces me to read the research papers I’ve collected, understand them, and critically assess their value in... Continue Reading →
That's right, they exist - compensation, recognition, sales incentives, its all out there. Here are six of my favorites: Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) Directed by James Foley and written by David Mamet (the same guy that wrote the stage play of the same name), this is arguably the best film ever made about how to... Continue Reading →
The challenges with financial incentives that relate to problem-solving roles, and how we can truly drive innovation
Requests for adding in levels are common but additional grades often create more problems than they solve.
A beginner's guide to salary survey job matching
Job architecture may seem intimidating. Here are three approaches that you can follow.
This is intended to help anyone new to compensation but also to clarify some terms that can be confusing or that have multiple interpretations that we should be aware of. If I am missing anything or need to clarify further, please let me know in the comments below. For considerations on salary structure approaches, take... Continue Reading →
"One does not simply build a salary structure" Following up on my previous posts on the differences in globally graded vs traditional salary structures and job-based approaches vs salary structures, I'd like to add one more piece to make it a trilogy. But hopefully a good trilogy like the Before trilogy or Lord of the... Continue Reading →
“Things are always happening to me. I’m that sort of bear” A while back I wrote a bit about the differences between traditional salary structures and global grading systems as a means to manage base pay. In this much-anticipated1 follow-up, I'd like to write a bit about how job-based ranges differ from salary structures, the... Continue Reading →