Subject: Re: Where we're going from here
Years ago I worked for a Fortune 500 company and they explained the system to new hires. The system was the Hayes Method and it was utilized to determine pay for all the jobs inside the company. Mind you this company had 113,000 employees at that time during the 1970s. Below is Google AI's first paragraph explanation of the Hayes Method:

"The Hayes method, formally known as the Hay Guide Chart-Profile Method, is a job evaluation system that assesses the relative value of different roles within an organization to determine appropriate compensation levels. It focuses on three primary factors: Knowledge, Problem Solving, and Accountability. These factors are further broken down into sub-factors, with each job assigned a point value based on its characteristics within these categories. The point values are then used to establish a hierarchy of jobs and inform compensation decisions."

The simple explanation given to me so many years ago in that Fortune 500 company was pay was determined using two factors: a. The Skill level needed to do the job (Knowledge and Problem Solving) and b. The Accountability involved with the job (the number of people being managed, the amount of assets being managed, etc.). We had PhDs in the R&D side of the business who were making relatively big bucks who were only managing one or two staff members (lab assistants). They got the big bucks for their unique skills (specific PhD knowledge area + Problem Solving capability). Conversely, we had folks making equivalent big bucks pay having only modest educational attainment that were managing, say, two hundred staff members (Accountability).

We operated our small business over the years utilizing our assessment of the Skills and Responsibilities involved with each position to determine appropriate compensation. Additionally, in recent years we also began using subscription software services that track pay by position description within a defined metro market area. As a small company in a small town located within a 30 minute driving distance of a much larger metro population area, we utilized the information to pay above the 70th percentile for a position. To those not aware, small companies in small towns frequently pay more to attract and keep talent. To recap: Some form of Hayes methodology (Knowledge, Problem Solving, Accountability + locale market conditions) is how pay is logically determined for most jobs here in 2025.

Uwharrie