Real screenshots from the workbook. Example figures are illustrative.
Workforce Planning Pack
Plan the staffing with numbers you can defend. How many people the workload needs, how many cover the posts, whether to hire or run overtime, and what an hour really costs.
One-time purchase, no subscription. Instant download.
Built by expert HR practitioners and leaders
- FTE and headcount planner that turns annual workload into required FTE and a hiring plan
- Shift staffing planner with coverage hours, the relief factor, and employees needed per post
- Overtime vs new hire comparison with the break-even hours and a three-year verdict
- Labor burden calculator that prices the fully loaded cost of an hour, component by component
- Benchmarks tab with public ranges to sanity check each result, sources noted
- One-page summary that pulls the headline from every tool into a single view
The pack sizes the plan. It does not make the staffing decision and does not replace finance review.
Planning estimates and general business information, not legal or tax advice. Headcount and coverage rest on the assumptions you set, so calibrate them to your own data.
Not the right fit? Take the 60-second match.
Last reviewed June 2026
Four planning tools in one workbook
Eight tabs in one Excel file. A Start Here page sets the order to work in, four tools do the analysis, a benchmarks tab keeps the inputs honest, and a one-page summary pulls the headlines together. A Notes tab holds the assumptions you chose and why.
FTE and Headcount Planner
Set the working-time assumptions once: hours, holidays, PTO, sick time, utilization, and attrition. Then list each team's annual volume and hours per unit, and required FTE, the staffing gap, and the hires to close it calculate.
Shift Staffing Planner
Set per-employee availability, then list each post with positions at once, hours per day, and days per week. Coverage hours, the relief factor, and the employees needed to cover every post calculate.
Overtime vs New Hire
Enter the extra hours and pay rates. The model compares recurring overtime against a loaded new hire, finds the break-even hours per week, and states the cheaper option with three-year costs.
Fully Burdened Labor Rate
Enter a role's salary and set eight burden components, from payroll taxes to overhead allocation. The fully loaded annual cost and hourly rate calculate, with a component breakdown.
Benchmarks
Public ranges to sanity check each result: working time, relief factors, overtime rules, the benefits share of pay, and labor burden by sector, with the source noted per section.
Summary
Your workforce picture on one page. Recommended headcount, the staffing gap, shift coverage, the overtime verdict, and the cost of an hour, every figure pulled live from the four tools.
From workload to a headcount you can defend
Each tool answers one staffing question, and every result flows to the summary, so the picture stays current as you work.
Size the team against the workload
Set hours, time off, utilization, and attrition once. List each team's volume and hours per unit, and required FTE, the gap, and the hiring plan calculate, with attrition replacement built in.
Cover every shift
List each post and its hours. The relief factor converts coverage hours into the employees it takes once time off, holidays, and sick days land.
Settle overtime versus hiring
Compare recurring overtime against a loaded new hire. The break-even hours per week and the three-year costs make the call visible.
Price the hour and pressure-test
Build a role's fully burdened rate component by component, then check your inputs against public benchmark ranges before the plan goes upstairs.
Planning math that survives the finance review
A headcount ask is only as strong as the assumptions under it, so the pack keeps every assumption on the surface and sources its benchmark ranges.
Who it's built for
Who this pack fits, and where to go if that's not you.
Built for
- An operations, plant, support, or service leader who has to justify headcount with more than a feeling.
- An HR team of one turning a stretched team into a staffing case finance will accept.
- A consultant or fractional HR lead sizing an organization for a client.
If you are looking for
- The cost of people leaving and being out, not a staffing plan. The Turnover and Absence Cost Pack prices cost per departure, absence, vacancy, and retention savings.
- The savings from a reduction, not a build. The RIF and Restructuring Savings Planner handles severance, the full one-time cost, and the payback period.
Before you buy
What format is it and can I edit it?
Is this legal or tax advice?
How is this different from free FTE templates?
Do the four tools share inputs?
Is it a subscription?
Will it stay current as rates change?
What is the refund policy?
What happens after I buy?
Can I expense this purchase to my business?
Most customers buy TrueStep HR tools for business use, and a tool you use for work often qualifies as a deductible business expense. Whether it does for you depends on your situation, so confirm with your accountant or tax professional. Your receipt arrives by email at checkout and works as documentation.
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Plan the staffing once with numbers that hold up
Required FTE, shift coverage, the overtime call, and the true cost of an hour, with every assumption on the surface.
Planning estimates and general information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed June 2026.