Headcount, FTE and workforce planning
Count people and capacity separately, size the gap by unit, and test a new structure on a copy before anyone hears about it.
Get a DemoAll guide partsHeadcount counts people, FTE counts capacity
Headcount is the number of people on the list. FTE, full-time equivalent, adds up working time. Ten people, eight full-time and two half-time, are a headcount of 10 and 9.0 FTE. Both numbers are right; they answer different questions.
| Use headcount for | Use FTE for |
|---|---|
| Who is on the list, who needs equipment, who reports to whom | How much work the team can carry, labor cost, plans for capacity |
| Span of control and team size | Comparing units with different mixes of part-time and full-time |
Add a third number for planning: vacant positions, the boxes that exist and have nobody in them. They are where headcount plans become hiring plans.
Four planning questions
You do not need a heavy process to plan workforce. Four questions, asked in order, cover most of it.
- Where are we? Headcount, FTE and vacancies today, by unit.
- What will we need? The work expected next year, in FTE, from the people who own that work.
- What is the gap? Need minus what you will have, after expected exits and moves.
- What do we do about it? Hire, develop, move, change the work or accept the gap. Each choice has a cost and a date.
Sizing the gap
A gap has two parts: the people you must replace and the capacity that is new. Keep them apart because they are different decisions.
Do this by unit, not for the company as a whole. A surplus in one team does not fill a shortage in another unless people can actually move.
Working on scenarios without touching the live chart
When you plan a reorganization, work on a copy. Keep the chart everyone uses as it is, build the new structure beside it, and compare the two by unit. A few habits help:
- Name every version. “Reorg draft 2, 15 Nov” beats “new”.
- Decide who sees each draft. A restructuring is not for everyone, until it is announced.
- Compare few numbers. Headcount, FTE, span and cost by unit are enough for a first decision.
- Keep the record. Once a structure is decided, save it, so you can see later how the organization looked.
How this looks in OrgChart Agile
- The dashboards break headcount and FTE down by company, location, department or role, with occupied and vacant positions per unit. See Org chart analytics.
- Versions (Plus plan) let you work on a draft structure while the live chart stays as it is, and each version has its own minimum access level. See Reorganization planning.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between headcount and FTE?
Headcount counts people. FTE counts working time, so two half-time people equal one FTE. Use both, and say which one a number is.
How do I plan a reorganization without confusing the live chart?
Work on a separate version. Move people there, review the result by unit and share it with the people who need to see it. The chart everyone else uses stays unchanged.
What should I do with vacant positions?
Show them in the chart. A vacancy that is visible gets a decision; one that is hidden becomes a surprise at budget time.
Continue the guide
Plan on your own numbers
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