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FTE and Headcount Planning Calculator

See how many full-time equivalent positions your workload requires, then account for working hours, time off, and expected turnover in your hiring plan.

Your estimate

Your results update in your browser as you enter your figures.

Enter your workload Add your annual workload, time per task, and current staffing. About one minute.

Your workload and team

Start with your annual work volume and current team size.
items
hrs each
Enter how many tasks or units your team handles each year and the average hours each takes. If you already know your total workload hours, enter that total and use 1 hour per unit.
Annual workload: 18,000 hours
FTE
Count the people currently doing this work in full-time equivalents. Two half-time employees equal 1.0 FTE. Include filled positions only.
Available working time per FTE
Use 52 working weeks when entering time off separately. Core-work time is the share of available hours spent on the work you are measuring after meetings, training, and administration. For knowledge roles, 70% to 85% is a common starting range. If your task estimates already include those activities, use a value near 100%. The calculator estimates replacement hiring by multiplying current FTE by expected annual turnover.

FTE required

0FTE
Current FTE
0
Capacity used
Enter current staffing
Estimated hires needed
0
Enter your team

Your staffing calculation

Compare the FTE your workload requires with your team's available capacity and estimated hiring needs.

Email your results

Get your staffing estimate and entered figures by email.

Your results will arrive by email. HR notes are optional, and you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy

How the calculation works

Calculate staffing from workload

One full-time equivalent (FTE) represents the hours of one full-time position. At 40 hours per week, that is 2,080 scheduled hours annually. After holidays, leave, and other responsibilities, productive working time often falls between 1,500 and 1,900 hours per year.

See the calculation

Workload divided by productive hours

Annual work volume multiplied by hours per unit gives you total workload hours. For each FTE, subtract time off from scheduled hours and apply the percentage spent on core work to find productive hours. For example, 18,000 hours of demand divided by 1,627 productive hours per FTE equals approximately 11.1 FTE.

Include replacement hiring

The difference between required FTE and current FTE shows your staffing gap. The hiring estimate also accounts for expected replacements from turnover, calculated as current FTE multiplied by the annual turnover rate. Estimated hires are rounded up to whole people.

Refine your assumptions

Use your team's typical time off, meeting schedules, and workload records to set your assumptions. More available hours reduce the estimated staffing requirement. More time spent in meetings and administration increases it.

Put your results to work

Plan staffing across teams

Compare staffing needs, growth, and turnover across teams in the FTE Headcount Planner workbook. It includes a board-ready hiring summary.

$29

One-time purchase. Instant download.

View the Excel workbook

30-day refund. Reply to your receipt or email support@truestephr.com.

Related resources

Related calculators and research

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  • Calculator Recruiter Capacity Plan recruiter capacity based on open positions, hiring complexity, and workload.
  • Calculator Span of Control Review average direct reports per manager, reporting layers, and managers needed at a target span.
  • Calculator Labor Burden Rate Build the fully burdened hourly cost and annual labor burden using salary and employer expenses.

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Compare this estimate with your records to help plan your next step.

Next steps

Build your staffing plan

Keep your estimate and build out staffing requirements for each team in the workbook.

01 · Calculate

Calculate required FTE

Enter your workload and available working hours.

02 · Save and compare

Email your results

Save your estimate by email for reference. Add each team to the planner to compare staffing requirements across the business.

Explore the Excel workbook →
03 · Connect staffing to cost · $79

Workforce Planning Pack

Use the Workforce Planning Pack to evaluate role coverage, overtime, and labor costs alongside staffing needs.

Explore the Workforce Planning Pack →