← HR Metrics·Compensation & Benefits
Median Base Salary
Median base salary across all employees
How it’s computed
MEDIAN(base_salary)
What the evidence shows
Evidence (effect sizes, priors, validity) is syncing from Principia.
What this metric can show you
Median Base Salary can tell roughly 22 pre-built stories — each a designed scene the data either confirms or it doesn’t. Bring your numbers and the Story Finder runs every one of these shapes against them.
specific to compensation & benefits
A real gradient — now ask if it's pointed at value
compensation · T1
Below the market, across the board
compensation · T1
One group sits apart on a decision that should be neutral
fairness-equity · T1
Pay is drifting from plan
compensation · T1
universal shapes — any single metric can take these
A few large values are doing the talking
any focus · T1
A one-time event, not a trend
any focus · T1
It doesn't track — the premise is false
any focus · T1
It's concentrated — one group stands apart
any focus · T1
Scenes are pre-built; your data is the toggle. Browse the full deck or watch one play end-to-end in The Quiet Exodus.
Run it on your data
This metric is computed in the People Analytics Toolbox on your own numbers. See pricing — posted, no quotes.
sources: toolbox:metrics-catalog
What the literature says
The measurement literature behind this signal — sourced, so you can defend it.
“This also exacerbates the issue regarding the comparison of a small office with two large offices.CHAPTER 4 MEASURES OF LOCATION 4.1 Number99Mode50,000Median65,000Mean66,364Trimmed mean (n = 89)65,652 4.2 Skewed positively with a tail to the right, because the mean is more than…”
— Statistics for Compensationmatch 53%
“If the employer is investigating claims of discriminatory pay-setting practices, then the base rate of pay may be the appropriate choice.NoteThere is no reason the same compensation metrics must be studied across similarly situated employee groupings. Different compensation…”
— Compensating Employees Fairlymatch 52%
“It is calculated by dividing the sum of salary increase amounts for all eligible employees by the eligible payroll. Both the numerator and the denominator include those who were eligible and participated but received no increase.[C4, GR4]AwardAn amount of cash, a prize, a symbol…”
— Worldatwork Handbook Compensationmatch 51%
Resources: Statistics for Compensation · Compensating Employees Fairly · Worldatwork Handbook Compensation