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What is headcount?

Frank Blecha
Frank Blecha
— 5 min read
What is headcount?

Headcount is the number of people you have on staff or are hiring. For example:

  • "What's your headcount?” means how many people you have on your team.
  • "How much headcount do you have left to hire?” - this is the number of positions left to fill, not your total headcount on your team.

Either way, it corresponds to the number of people you want to fill your positions.

Depending on the firm (especially your HR and Finance teams), it can be an absolute or relative number. A relative headcount is more common in firms, where it’s all about what you can do with the money. For example, if you have a headcount of 25 but have funding for 30, HR may prevent you from hiring those five more people. If your firm treats it as relative, it’s whatever the financing will support to hire those extra five people. In firms where HR tends to own more of the hiring decision, using an absolute headcount is common.

How do you determine your headcount?

There are three common ways to approach your headcount. The primary way is your funding determines it. However, you may be building a proposal, so your staffing plan determines it. Finally, there are times when you aren’t able to provide input, and you’re handed a number.