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Compensation Studies
Building a competitive and fair compensation system starts with the right data and strategic expertise. At CDA, we provide end-to-end compensation consulting services that help you benchmark against the market, analyze pay structures, and implement data-driven solutions. With CDA’s expertise, you’ll gain a compensation system that works for both your employees and your organization’s long-term success. Here’s how we guide you through every step of the process:
1. Identify the Right Comparables
We carefully select 10–12 comparable agencies based on factors like population served, budget, services offered, and location, ensuring your compensation study reflects an accurate market landscape.
2. Collect & Analyze Market Data
Our team gathers and evaluates compensation data from comparable organizations, delivering clear insights and reports to inform your salary and benefits decisions.
3. Develop Strategic Recommendations
Beyond raw data, we provide expert guidance on pay ranges, internal equity, and compensation policies—helping you align your strategy with industry best practices.
4. Support Implementation & Beyond
We don’t just deliver findings—we help you communicate changes, adjust pay structures, and execute a compensation plan that’s transparent, competitive, and sustainable.
Recent Clients and Projects
Public Sector HR/Labor Projects
- Fire Districts and RFAs
- Public Transit PTBAs
- Port Districts – Police Officers and Firefighters
- Public Libraries – Librarians and Facilities
- 9-1-1 Communication Centers – Telecommunicators
Private Sector HR/Labor Projects
- Oil and Gas – Maintenance and Facilities
- Public Radio – Broadcasters and Copywriters
- Third Party Administration (TPAs) – Pension and Claims
- Entertainment – Musicians and Facilities
Contact Cabot Dow Associates
Steward public resources well with the help of our data-driven compensation studies and HR consulting services.
We want to help you make data-driven compensation and Human Resources decisions that will help you balance the needs of your municipal government or publicly funded entity.
Our objective compensation studies, labor negotiation, and HR consulting make it possible!
The first step is to reach out to us for a free intro session.
We will unearth opportunities for how we can work together, discuss what a custom compensation strategy could look like for your organization, and share about how we achieved success for organizations similar to yours..
FAQ
Our services are geared to leverage changes that will create a more efficient agency for years to come. With approximately 70-80% of a general fund devoted to personnel and benefits, anytime we can have a positive impact within these areas, it tends to vastly eclipse the cost it takes to hire CDA.
Additionally, we’re flexible to work within your budget, spending threshold, and authority. We routinely structure engagements to allow agencies to avoid a formal RFP process.
At CDA, we take on projects that we know we can handle, and we’ll work with you to establish a realistic timeline. We have a manageable workload, with around 12-15 projects per year, and a team with diverse expertise, including union and non-union employees.
On average, a compensation study plus strategy and consulting on implementation will take 3-4 months. If it’s a labor negotiation project, it may take around 5 months.
We get this question all the time, and the answer depends on your objectives. A lawyer will be more focused on legal analysis and compliance, while we are more focused on giving you the tools your HR team needs to succeed in the long term.
CDA offers a more collaborative relationship where we are work alongside your HR team, oftentimes helping you analyze and structure your positions, pay structure, and more. In addition, we often form long-term relationships where we work with agencies for many years rather than simply taking on a single project.
While lawyers are skilled in legal analysis, we focus on the collaborative, HR professional side of labor negotiation and compensation studies. Our expertise in pay plan design and structure, combined with our long-term relationships with agencies, sets us apart. We’re also more cost-effective and provide continuity, having worked with many agencies for 20 years.
Two primary options are available. We can operate as your spokesperson, where we are a member of the bargaining team. We can also provide an advisory role away from the table. With virtual negotiating proceedings becoming more and more common, we can often sit on on your meetings even when you hire us in an advisory role.