Headcount

What is Headcount?

The number of staff and or consultants you have in your company at this present moment, either presented as headcount or Full-Time Equivalent (FTE).

How to calculate Headcount:

If you are just looking at headcount, then this number will be the total number of employees and or consultants in your company, accessed either via your Human Resources Information System (HRIS) or payroll information.

If you are looking for the number of FTE, this will be:

Total # weekly hours being worked in the company / # standard working hours per week = Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)

Pros:

Knowing how many staff and or consultants you have at any one point is a useful piece of information to have on hand.

If your company is growing, and you are regularly hiring new staff this metric is a great way to keep on top of your numbers, plus you can always break it down by department or location numbers depending on your company needs.

Knowing your FTE as well as your headcount will tell you the number of weekly hours you have in the company. FTE is often used for planning purposes, including financial declarations, insurance purposes and benefit plans.

Cons:

Having accurate information on your headcount and FTE is essential for every company, so make sure you know your numbers!