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Services
Who We Serve
At Cabot Dow Associates, we remain committed to helping organizations navigate the complexities of human resources and labor relations. Whether you are facing new challenges or considering updates to your HR or labor strategies, we are here to support you. We are ready to help our clients with a diverse range of services:
Compensation Studies:
Ensure your pay structures remain fair and equitable to foster recruitment and retention while preserving fiscal responsibility and transparency. Compensation studies can be salary only or TCC (total cost of compensation).
Collective Bargaining Agreements:
CDA will sit at the bargaining table as your organization’s Chief Negotiator or will support and advise your Chief Negotiator.
Labor Relations Support:
Support for your team in developing and implementing your labor relations policy. CDA also supports HR teams with grievances, arbitrations, ULPs, MOUs, etc.
HR Management Solutions:
Tailored support for your unique HR needs (ex. Executive Recruitment, Employee Relations, Classification and Organizational Structure, Workload Analysis, HR Policies and Procedures).
Sample Employee Groups
CDA assists public employers with compensation, human resources and labor relations, work involving a variety of employee groups:
- 911 Telecommunicators
- Law Enforcement Officers
- Electrical Workers
- Firefighters
- Paramedics
- Custody Officers
- Chemical Workers
- Public Works and Utilities Employees
- Clerical and Administrative Support Employees
- Building Inspectors, Engineers, Planners
- Emergency Dispatchers
- Professional and Managerial Police and Fire Personnel
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.