A staffing forecast asks what would happen if a position, assignment, or budget assumption changed. A useful comparison keeps the starting plan, proposed change, and effective date visible together.
Establish the starting plan
Agree on the positions, dates, and budget assumptions you are comparing. Keep approved position capacity separate from employee assignments and from the budget rates used to estimate cost.
For each proposed change, record the position, current FTE, proposed FTE, proposed effective date, reason, and owner. Identify whether the question concerns approved capacity, staffing an existing vacancy, or a financial assumption. Those changes do not necessarily affect the same information.
Work through a simple dated example
Suppose a planning worksheet assumes a flat $5,000 per month for a 1.0 FTE position. A proposal would reduce its planned capacity to 0.8 FTE from October 1.
For this illustration, cost changes in direct proportion to FTE, every month is treated equally, and there are no additional pay changes or adjustments. These are example assumptions, not a reproduction of a particular organization’s payroll or FTE Tree calculation.
| Period | Starting plan | Proposed plan | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| January through September | 9 × $5,000 = $45,000 | 9 × $5,000 = $45,000 | $0 |
| October through December | 3 × $5,000 = $15,000 | 3 × $4,000 = $12,000 | −$3,000 |
| Full year | $60,000 | $57,000 | −$3,000 |
The FTE change is 0.2 from October onward. Multiplying the full year’s $60,000 by 20% would produce $12,000, which describes a full-year reduction under these assumptions, not the three-month effect in this proposal.
Test the assumptions behind the result
Replace the simplified assumptions with the ones your organization actually uses. Check the relevant work schedule, full-time standard, budget rates, adjustment rules, and effective dates.
A vacant position may still carry a labor budget. An employee’s actual pay is separate from the budget amount assigned to a position. Decide which question the forecast needs to answer before comparing totals.
For FTE examples, see how to calculate a full-time equivalent. For open capacity, see vacant position management.
Compare like with like
Use the same date range and departments for both alternatives. Explain any differences in which positions are included. Review individual positions that drive the change before relying on the overall total.
Ask the reviewers to distinguish three conclusions:
- What capacity changes, and from which date?
- What planned cost changes under the stated assumptions?
- What decision or follow-up would be needed to put the proposal into effect?
A forecast comparison supports a decision. It does not establish that the proposed staffing change has already been approved or that employee pay has changed.
Explore the workflow in FTE Tree
FTE forecasting connects proposed staffing and financial changes with a starting plan. Workforce Planning includes labor budgets, actual compensation, forecasts, and financial reports with their own records and access controls.
For product instructions, read create a forecast and understand forecast results.