Alec Levenson

Dr. Levenson’s research focuses on the economics of human resources and organization design; HR and human capital metrics, analytics, and return on investment; and global and emerging market talent strategies. Topics include estimating the strategic and financial impact of HR and human capital; managing the new global workforce in both developed and emerging markets; identifying attraction, retention, motivation and productivity drivers for key talent pools; building analytic capabilities within the HR function; measuring the economic value of human capital gained on the job; aligning competency systems with strategic and bottom-line objectives; measuring and maximizing the economic value of leadership development, including executive coaching; measuring the return on investment to globally distributed software development; how companies manage for success in times of adversity; and contingent work.

He has written three books: Strategic Analytics: Advancing Strategy Execution and Organizational Effectiveness; What Millennials Want From Work: How to Maximize Engagement in Today’s Workforce (with Jennifer Deal); Employee Surveys That Work: Improving Design, Use and Organizational Impact.

His research has been published in numerous academic and business publications, and has been featured in New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, CNN, Associated Press, U.S. News and World Report, National Public Radio, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Marketplace, Fox News, and many other news outlets.

Research Partners & Clients

He works with companies to optimize job and organization performance and HR systems through the application of organization design, job design, human capital analytics, and strategic talent management. The companies he has worked with include Amgen, American Express, Boeing, Booz & Company, Capital One, Chevron, Cisco Systems, Dow Chemical, Dreyer’s/Nestle, EQUATE Petrochemical, Exelon, Frito-Lay/PepsiCo, Gunung Sewu/Great Giant Pineapple, Herman Miller, ITT, Johnson Controls, Microsoft, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Royal Bank of Canada, and Sinopec.

Professional Work

He has received research grants from the Sloan Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Science Foundation, China National Science Foundation, and the National Institute for Literacy. He has served as the external evaluator for multiple U.S. Department of Education Centers for International Business, Education and Research.

Education

BA – University of Wisconsin, Madison

MA – Princeton University

PhD – Princeton University