Shift Staffing Planner

Turn the coverage you have to provide into the headcount it takes to staff it. Set time off once, list each post, and the workbook returns coverage hours, the relief factor, and the people you need, with a payroll figure and a board-ready summary.

A working model, not a blank grid

Set per-employee availability once (contracted hours, working weeks, holidays, PTO, sick days, training, hours per day), then list each post with the people on at once, the hours per day, and the days per week. The workbook builds the hours one person works after time off, about 1,768 in the worked example, then returns coverage hours, the relief factor, and the employees needed, post by post. A one-page Summary rounds the headcount to whole people, carries the blended relief factor, and prices the plan at a fully loaded cost per employee, giving the annual payroll, the cost per coverage hour, and the cost per post. A Benchmark tab holds coverage and relief-factor ranges from BLS and contact-center staffing models, and it opens on a worked example so the logic is clear before you change anything.

The schedule shows the slots, not the people you employ

Coverage is how many people must be on at once; staffing is how many you employ to deliver it every day of the year, because the people filling those seats take days off and leave. Real staffing rests on the hours one person works after leave, not the 2,080-hour paid year, which is why the headcount runs above the schedule. The leave figures move the number most: a relief factor near 1.4 to 1.6 per eight-hour shift is common for moderate leave, and much above 1.7 signals heavy time off or a schedule worth tightening.

Built for

• An operations or HR leader staffing posts that run on a fixed schedule, security, dispatch, a front desk, a plant line, or a clinic, who needs the headcount behind the coverage before taking it to finance.
• A finance or operations partner pressure-testing a staffing request, who wants the employees tied to coverage hours and the relief factor, and a payroll figure at the recommended headcount.
• An owner or department head who keeps covering gaps with overtime and wants to see whether a post is simply understaffed.

If you are looking for sizing headcount from workload rather than fixed coverage, the FTE Headcount Planner does that. To decide whether to cover one steady gap with overtime or a new hire, see the Overtime vs New Hire Planner.

Before you buy

What format is it, and can I edit it?

It is one Excel workbook that also works in Google Sheets. Every input and formula is editable, and the file is yours to keep; add posts by inserting rows inside the table, and duplicate the file to plan a second site. Checkout delivers an instant download link, with the same link emailed on your receipt.

What does the paid workbook do that a free calculator does not?

This workbook plans every post in one place and adds the cost side: a fully loaded cost per employee turned into the annual payroll, the cost per coverage hour, and the cost per post. It is a file you keep, with open formulas, so you set the assumptions to your operation from your own payroll and attendance data, rerun it as coverage changes, and hand the Summary to leadership. A quick browser tool sizes one set of posts; this plans every post and prices coverage. Set sick or personal time to real unplanned absence, not only formal sick leave; BLS puts that around 1.7% to 1.9% of usual hours on top of planned PTO.

What is the refund policy?

Digital products are covered by a 14-day money-back guarantee. See the refund policy for the full terms. Questions? Email support@truestephr.com.

How the download works

Your files arrive as a single ZIP download, best opened on a computer: save it, extract it (right-click and Extract All on Windows, double-click on a Mac), and open the Start Here file first. PDFs open in any reader, and the editable files work in Microsoft Word and Excel or their free equivalents, including LibreOffice and Google Docs and Sheets. No other software is needed. Step-by-step help for every device is at truestephr.com/pages/download-help.

Scope

This tool is a planning and analysis model. Its outputs depend entirely on the inputs and assumptions you enter, and they are estimates for decision support, not accounting, tax, or legal conclusions. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it is not a substitute for qualified counsel on your specific situation. Check the assumptions against your own data and have any decision with pay, headcount, or separation consequences reviewed against applicable law before you act on it.