| SCA Consulting |
633 West 5th Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90071 |
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www.scaconsulting.com
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(213) 488-8570
Fax: (213) 489-2144
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Founded in 1984 as Strategic Compensation Associates, SCA Consulting uses its strategic, financial, organizational, and salary-related knowledge to help companies make cost-effective decisions. The firm designs salary systems that promote performance, but more specifically, it devises ways of evaluating employees. SCA also measures the risks of implementing various pay programs. The firm separates itself from the rest of the Brooks Brothers consulting crowd with its "circle consulting approach," which consists of three fancy-named objectives:
"Compensation Design," "Performance Measurement," "and Value Management."
The company boasts an international client base. Since its early days, it has worked with over 500 different companies in the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America, Australia, and the former Soviet Union. Even corporate luminaries like Dow Chemical and Times-Mirror have sought SCA's help. In the last several years, SCA has broadened its client base to include smaller companies, namely promising start-ups, spin-offs, and IPOs. An affiliation with Korn/Ferry International, the world's largest executive search firm, enables SCA to stay on top of international salary trends.
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SCA consulting provides ample information on employment on the "Careers" section of its Web site or www.scaconsulting.com. Consultants commonly come to the firm directly from prestigious undergraduate colleges and universities; they also come from MBA programs at highbrow schools like Harvard, Wharton, Princeton, Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, University of Chicago, Northwestern, Oxford, and Cambridge. SCA also accepts expatriates from Top Ten firms such as Booz Allen, BCG, and Mercer. A precious few SCA employees also come from nontraditional backgrounds: PhD and Masters programs, teaching positions, and industry-related jobs.
Because the firm is small, hiring is competitive; many candidates possess stellar academic records, with backgrounds in finance or accounting. SCA holds weeklong training sessions for new employees in "comfortable" locales like Miami and Newport.
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Perk-packed
With all its expertise in incentive systems for its clients, one would think that SCA would do a good job keeping its own employees happy and motivated. One thinks correctly. "Pay is competitive with other consulting firms," says one happy insider, who mentions that "bonuses are above average." Along with "the usual taxis and late-night meals," informants also report receiving "holiday meals," "meals when new employees begin work," and "training sessions at posh hotels." Travel is wide and frequent, but apparently not as intense as at other consulting firms. "We work from the office rather than basing ourselves with the client," declares a contact. "I much prefer this as it means I am only away for one or two days at a time."
The small size of SCA also draws rave reviews: "Our size means that there is a lot of early responsibility and exposure to very senior people." This responsibility means long hours (typical hours are from 8:30 a.m. to "all hours of the night"), but for those dedicated to the job, "satisfaction is high." Says a source: "I have just had a really hard week and didn't get to bed before midnight any night. For the three weeks before that I was home by 8 - at latest. I found the busiest week the most rewarding."
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