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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Assumptions on the surface. Working time, utilization, attrition, relief availability, and the burden components are visible, editable cells, not buried constants.
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Benchmarks from public sources. Quit rates from BLS JOLTS, the benefits share from BLS compensation data, cost-per-hire context from SHRM, with the source noted next to each range.
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A worked example in every tool. The file opens on realistic teams, posts, and a priced role, not a blank sheet you have to decode.
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Honest where it matters. The hiring plan includes replacement hiring from attrition, and the overtime model carries an optional soft-cost uplift instead of hiding fatigue in the rate.
Who it is built for
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?
One Excel workbook, eight tabs. It works in Excel or Google Sheets, every cell is editable, and the file is yours to keep.
Is this legal or tax advice?
No. It is planning math with estimates and general business information. Working-time rules, pay, and benefits vary by company and location, so calibrate the assumptions to your own data before decisions that depend on them.
How is this different from free FTE templates?
Free templates usually stop at one calculation. This pack connects four: the FTE plan adds attrition-driven replacement hiring on top of the gap, shift coverage uses a real relief factor, the overtime comparison finds your break-even hours, and the burden calculator prices the hour those plans spend. Sourced benchmarks and a one-page summary hold it together.
Do the four tools share inputs?
Each tool carries its own inputs because the assumptions differ by question: planning utilization for the FTE model, relief availability for shifts, pay rates for the overtime comparison. Every tab opens pre-filled with a worked example; replace the amber cells with your numbers and the Summary updates as you go.
Is it a subscription?
No. One-time purchase, instant download, no recurring fee. You keep the file.
Will it stay current as rates change?
The workbook carries a last-reviewed date, the benchmark ranges show their sources next to the figures they support, and meaningful updates are released as the numbers change.
What is the refund policy?
Digital products are covered by a 14-day money-back guarantee. See the refund policy for the full terms.
What happens after I buy?
Checkout delivers an instant download link, and a receipt with the same link arrives by email. Open the Start Here tab first; it tells you the order to work in. If the file gives you trouble, email support@truestephr.com.
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. Last reviewed June 2026.
