Why Some Firms Pay Better Than Others

The wage gap among firms appears to be rising, although the causes remain a matter of debate. Some of the disparity may be a matter of how skilled the workforce is at various firms; some of it may be due to differences between industries. But in my experience, the biggest factor in how well a company pays is its business model, which will determine important metrics such as its gross margin, how much labor costs are as a percent of its operating expenses, and its employee productivity.