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Pay P90/P10 Ratio
Robust pay-spread measure: 90th percentile over 10th percentile. Preferred over the interquartile range (which trims too much). Higher = wider dispersion.
How it’s computed
P90(pay) / P10(pay)
What the evidence shows
Evidence (effect sizes, priors, validity) is syncing from Principia.
What this metric can show you
Pay P90/P10 Ratio 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.
“Table 5.14 is our completed table with all four measures of variation we have discussed. Interpretations and Applications of P90/P10 1. The Values Themselves . The smaller the P90/P10, the smaller is the spread of the middle 80% of the data. The larger the P90/P10, the larger is…”
— Statistics for Compensationmatch 65%
“In this example with the range of the accounting assistant salaries almost twice that of the administrative assistant salaries, we can conclude the accounting assistant data are much more varied than the administrative assistant data.TABLE 5.12 SALARY SURVEY OF TWO JOBS—MEASURES…”
— Statistics for Compensationmatch 64%
“PAY RANGES AND RANGE SPREADSA “pay range” has a minimum pay value, a maximum pay value, and a midpoint or central value. The difference between the maximum and the minimum is the “range spread,” or the “width” of the range. Range width usually is expressed as a percentage of the…”
— Worldatwork Handbook Compensationmatch 60%
Resources: Statistics for Compensation · Worldatwork Handbook Compensation