CFOs Headcount Planning Checklist

No matter where you work or what industry you’re in, there’s a good chance you’re planning to spend more in 2025, according to a Forrester survey. At the same time, with uncertainty and constraints continuing, many CFOs are under pressure to show they’re using resources as efficiently as possible.

We’re seeing many organizations use Firmbase’s platform to help this effort. One crucial way to do that is to be intentional and strategic about how you do headcount planning.

What is Headcount Planning?

Headcount planning is what its name suggests, the strategic and tactical planning around an organization’s human resources.

It shouldn’t be confused with workforce planning, which is focused on aligning human resources with long-term wide organizational goals and priorities. In effect, headcount planning is one of the important components of workforce planning. Getting it right is vital to be able to carry out workforce planning effectively as well.

The idea is to determine how many employees, of which types and experience levels, you need in specific roles and departments in order to achieve the company’s objectives within a given timeframe – often the year ahead, though it can change according to needs and circumstances. Unless you have the right people in the right places, you won’t be able to use your resources in the best possible way to meet your goals.

Why Headcount Planning Matters

For many organizations, headcount is one of the largest budget items across the company. People are expensive – but also tremendously valuable. It’s up to the organization to make sure they’re being used to full effect.

On a day-to-day basis, this comes down to collaborative efforts, good line management, training, making sure everyone has the tools they need, clear KPIs, and so on. On the more strategic level, however, it’s headcount planning, which requires looking at the company as a whole and analyzing both its current state and what it needs to get where it’s supposed to be going.

For this reason, headcount planning often involves the CFO in two ways. First, CFOs need to oversee the headcount planning for their own department, analyzing the current breakdown of resources, whether it’s a match for the department’s needs, and more strategically whether the arrangement needs adjusting to meet the company’s overall requirements.

The second is part of the wider CFO role and responsibilities. Good headcount planning can make an enormous difference to an organization’s efficiency and ability to achieve its objectives. It’s also a key part of budget planning and processes.

How to Do Headcount Planning: Best Practices

Headcount planning is a little different for every organization. It should also evolve along with the company. So there’s no single perfect template for getting it right. On the other hand, there are some best practices that are relevant in almost every organization for how to do headcount planning. These include:

Make sure it’s data-driven. The value of a headcount planning process is that it enables you to optimize your use of your human resources. To do that, you need data from across the organization on not just employees but also productivity and KPIs.
Integrate fully with your HR Information System (HRIS). You need up-to-date information on your current headcount, hiring processes and skill sets, which requires full integration with your company’s HRIS. Firmbase integrates seamlessly with the HRIS, to ensure your headcount planning can be fully informed.
Plan for agility. If you’re looking at the whole year, make sure you take needed variation into account. For example, you might need more hands on deck for things like product launches or new stores or a holiday season – but only at certain times or from a certain time in the year.
Consider all your options. Depending on your needs, consider full-time, part-time, consultant, freelance or outsourcing options.
Bring tech into the picture. Automation can make employees far more productive and effective, so explore what tools might help existing employees expand their scope rather than assuming you need to hire additional people.
Reassess what’s needed and how that has changed since last time. Headcount planning needs to fit the reality of the company in the year ahead, not where it was this time last year. That means analyzing what you’ve got with an open mind and considering what might need to change.
Have a checklist. Formalize and document your headcount planning process as you go along so that you can repeat what worked, improve what needs tweaking, and build on your experiences over time.