Headcount Planning Tool
A headcount planning tool converts a growth percentage into concrete hiring numbers: how many people, at what total salary, how many per month over the planning period, and how they divide between departments. It is the first draft of a hiring plan, before recruiter capacity and budget approval reshape it.
Last reviewed by the Radiatus Cloud team
Company Information
Department Allocation
Hiring Plan Summary
Department Breakdown
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How the numbers are calculated
Target headcount is current headcount multiplied by one plus the growth percentage, rounded. New hires is the difference. Salary cost is new hires multiplied by the average salary you enter, and hiring pace is new hires divided by the planning period in months. Department figures apply the allocation percentages to the new-hire total, and the tool warns if those percentages do not sum to 100, because rounded shares of a wrong total will not add back up.
Salary is not cost
The total shown is base salary only. Employer payroll taxes, benefits, equipment, software seats and recruiting fees typically add 25 to 40 percent in the United States and more in much of Europe. A team of ten new engineers at 150,000 dollars is not 1.5 million dollars; it is closer to 2 million. Use the employee cost analyzer for the fully loaded figure once the plan is shaped.
Reading the pace number
Hiring pace is the number that gets plans rejected. A recruiter typically closes two to four hires a month for senior roles and more for junior ones. If the tool shows six hires a month and you have one recruiter, either the timeline extends or agencies enter the budget at 20 to 25 percent of first-year salary each. Start dates also lag offers by one to three months, so headcount reached by month twelve was mostly hired by month nine.
A worked plan
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Current headcount | 40 |
| Growth target | 50 percent |
| Planning period | 12 months |
| Average salary | $110,000 |
| Allocation | Eng 50, Sales 25, Marketing 10, Ops 15 |
Result: target 60, 20 new hires, 2.2 million dollars in salary, 1.7 hires a month, split 10, 5, 2 and 3. Fully loaded, budget nearer 2.9 million, and expect the last few starts to land in the following year.
Using a single average salary
One average across engineering and operations hides a lot. Run the tool once per department with that department's average if the split matters for budgeting, and sum the results.
Related tools
- Employee Cost Analyzer — Calculate the fully loaded cost of an employee, including the burden that salary alone never shows.
- Startup Burn Rate & Runway Calculator — Calculate monthly burn rate and runway from cash, revenue, and expenses.
- Salary Converter — Convert pay between hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and annual, using the working-hour assumptions that actually apply.
- OKR Planner — Generate a simple OKR structure with an objective and key results to track progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the salary figure include benefits and taxes?
No. It is base salary times hires. Add roughly 25 to 40 percent for employer taxes, benefits and equipment, or use the employee cost analyzer for a line-by-line figure.
What does the planning period change?
The hiring pace: new hires divided by months. It does not change the number of hires or the cost, which depend only on the growth target.
Why do the department hires not add up to the total?
Each department share is rounded to a whole person. With small totals the rounding can drift by one, and if the allocation percentages do not sum to 100 the shares will not either; the tool flags that case.
How do I model attrition?
Increase the growth target by expected attrition. If you need 20 percent net growth and lose 10 percent of staff a year, plan for roughly 30 percent gross hiring.
Is any of this data saved?
No. Inputs live in the page until you leave it.
Privacy & Security
Data stays local.
About This Tool
This tool runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server, ensuring complete privacy. Simply use the interface above to get started — no registration or login required.
Disclaimer: This tool is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Results are for educational and utility purposes.
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