Formula and assumptions
Productive FTE = workload ÷ scheduled hours per full-time employee. Scheduled FTE = productive FTE ÷ (1 − shrinkage) × (1 + buffer).
Results depend on your inputs. Read the calculation methodology.
FTE & Headcount Calculator
Estimate the productive FTEs and scheduled headcount required after accounting for shrinkage and coverage buffer.
Headcount-to-FTE group planner
Compare scheduled weekly capacity with a scheduled-hours target. Enter anonymous groups, one per line: number of people, weekly hours per person. This is a capacity model, not a benefits or statutory reporting calculator.
Worked example
A 400-hour weekly workload divided by a 40-hour full-time baseline requires 10 productive FTE. With 20% shrinkage, schedule 12.5 FTE, equivalent to 13 people only if each person works full-time.
Understand the result
Workforce Planning · Pillar guide
FTE Workforce Planning: From Workload to Scheduled Staff
Convert workload hours into productive FTEs and adjust for meetings, training, leave and other shrinkage.
Workforce Planning · GuideStaffing Shrinkage: Divide by Availability
Divide the productive staffing requirement by one minus shrinkage. Ten productive FTE at 20% shrinkage requires 12.5 scheduled FTE, not 12.
Workforce Planning · GuideFTE vs. Headcount: Why Twelve People May Not Equal Twelve FTE
FTE expresses capacity relative to a full-time baseline. Headcount counts people. Part-time schedules make the two numbers differ.
Workforce Planning · GuideCalculate Weekly Coverage Hours Before Estimating Staff
Multiply simultaneous positions by operating hours. Two continuously occupied positions across a 24/7 week require 336 productive coverage hours.
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Compare shift rows against a constant staffing target and see exactly when coverage falls short.
Calculate →Turn the workload into comparable hours
Use the same time period for the workload and the full-time baseline. A requirement of 300 weekly hours divided by a 37.5-hour full-time week is 8 productive FTE. Do not divide weekly workload by annual employee hours. FTE is a capacity unit; it is not necessarily the number of people on the team.
Apply availability once, then check the roster
With 20% shrinkage, only 80% of scheduled capacity is available for the modeled work. Eight productive FTE therefore require 8 ÷ 0.8 = 10 scheduled FTE. A further 10% buffer gives 11. If leave and training were already removed from the baseline, do not deduct them again through shrinkage. Finally check skills and time-of-day coverage.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate FTE from hours?
Divide the hours in the chosen period by the hours that represent one full-time employee in the same period. Three people working 20 hours each equal 1.5 FTE on a 40-hour baseline.
Is 0.5 FTE half a person?
No. It is half of the selected full-time capacity. One employee working 20 hours on a 40-hour baseline supplies 0.5 FTE. Headcount still counts that employee as one person.
Why divide by one minus shrinkage?
At 20% shrinkage, 0.8 of scheduled hours remain productive. Dividing the productive requirement by 0.8 finds the scheduled capacity needed. Multiplying by 1.2 would understate that requirement.
Does enough FTE guarantee shift coverage?
No. Total capacity does not ensure enough people at each hour or the right skill mix. The result is a planning input, not a completed roster or a queueing-service-level model.
Continue with your own figures
Staffing Shrinkage and Productive Capacity Calculator — Estimate productive hours, the scheduled hours needed to cover demand, and the additional FTE required after unavailable time.
Work through a specific example
- Calculate FTE for a Team of Full-Time and Part-Time Employees — Add each group's scheduled weekly hours, then divide the total by one consistent full-time baseline. Count people separately: capacity and headcount answer different questions.
- Calculate a Staffing Capacity Gap Before Adding Headcount — A capacity gap is required hours minus available hours measured on the same basis. A positive number is a shortfall; a negative number is a surplus.
- Staffing Shrinkage Formula: Calculate Required Hours and FTE — Divide productive workload by the available fraction of scheduled time, then divide by the full-time baseline to estimate required FTE.
- Productive Hours vs Scheduled Hours in Workforce Planning — Scheduled hours show assigned time; productive hours show the portion available for a defined workload. Comparing demand with the wrong measure can hide a capacity gap.
Download the example input worksheet to copy the sample rows and record your assumptions.