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.

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.

• Set the working-time assumptions once. Enter your hours, holidays, PTO, sick time, utilization, and attrition on the FTE and Headcount Planner before anything else; every team you list calculates against these, so get them agreed with finance first.
• Enter volume, not opinions. For each team, enter the annual work volume and the hours one unit takes, from your own system data where you have it, and let the tab do the sizing.
• List the posts, then the people. On Shift Staffing, enter each post with its positions at once, hours per day, and days per week, and set per-employee availability from your real time-off record.
• Price before you present. Run Overtime vs New Hire on the roles where overtime is chronic, build the Fully Burdened Labor Rate for the roles you plan to add, and check every input against the Benchmarks tab before the Summary 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.

• Assumptions on the surface. Working time, utilization, attrition, relief availability, and the burden components are visible, editable cells, not buried constants.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• A lean HR team 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.

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 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. Questions or want a hand getting set up? Email support@truestephr.com.

These are planning estimates, not legal advice. Overtime, classification, and staffing decisions carry legal weight, so confirm your assumptions against applicable law before you act on the plan.

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.