Before the board approves a headcount plan, war-game it as a ledger. Start from today's headcount, subtract expected attrition, decide which departures get backfilled, add net new roles by team and quarter, and show contractors alongside staff. Cost every seat fully loaded, by month, and show both the cost inside this year and the annual run rate you will carry into next year. Paste the plan, current headcount, last year's attrition, carried-over openings, contractor spend, and the revenue plan into one request. Instruct Pingpong to flag ending headcount that ignores attrition, costs shown at base salary only, open roles missing from the count, contractors doing permanent work, and teams growing faster than the revenue they support. Review your written answers in a second round.
This page is for chief executives and finance and people leaders preparing a full-year headcount plan for board approval. For recruiting pace and ramp time on new hires, see war-game a hiring plan before the board approves it. Executive starting points live under Pingpong for executives.
The plan as a ledger
- Starting headcount: by team, as of the plan date, matched to payroll.
- Attrition: expected departures by team, from last year's actual rate.
- Backfills: which departures get replaced, and which roles quietly go away.
- Net new roles: by team and quarter, each with the reason it exists.
- Carried-over openings: roles approved last year and still unfilled.
- Contractors: full-time equivalents and cost, with a note on which are doing permanent work.
- Ending headcount: the sum, checked against the line above it.
Three people, three numbers
Headcount conversations go wrong because each person in the room is counting something different. A team leader asks for six heads and means six people. Finance hears $1.2 million of base salary. The board hears a permanent increase in the cost base that will still be there in three years. All three are right. Base salary leaves out payroll taxes, benefits, equipment, software, and recruiting fees, which together usually add a quarter to a third. In-year cost looks modest when most hires start late, while the run rate at year end is what next year's revenue must carry.
A worked example
This example is illustrative and does not describe a customer. A 220-person software company asks the board to approve a plan ending the year at 290, with 70 new roles. Revenue is planned to grow 30 percent.
The finance leader pastes the plan, payroll headcount, attrition by team, carried-over openings, contractor spend, and the revenue plan.
A useful pass finds that the plan counts 70 hires and no departures. At last year's 14 percent attrition, about 31 people will leave, so 70 hires end the year near 260, not 290. Costs use base salary only: at a 1.3 loading, the in-year cost of new roles rises from $6.9 million to $9.0 million. Twelve roles approved last year are still open and not counted anywhere. The company spends $2.4 million on 18 contractors outside the plan, and about half are doing work that will not end. The in-year cost looks manageable because most hires start in the second half, but the year-end run rate for the new roles is about $16 million. General and administrative headcount grows 40 percent while revenue grows 30.
The revised ledger starts at 220, subtracts 31 expected departures, backfills 25 of them, and adds 70 net new roles, ending at 284. The twelve carried-over openings are either included or closed. Six contractors doing permanent work convert to staff, and four contracts end. General and administrative growth is held to the revenue rate. The board sees in-year cost and exit run rate side by side, with the run rate as a share of next year's planned revenue.
What the board approves
- A cost envelope: fully loaded, in-year and at exit.
- A cap by team: ending headcount, with permission to move seats between teams inside the envelope.
- A release gate: 30 second-half roles released at midyear only if revenue is at least 95 percent of plan.
- A quarterly view: actual headcount against plan, attrition, and contractor spend.
Whether those people can deliver the revenue plan is a separate test, covered in war-game a capacity plan before the board approves the revenue plan.
A request you can copy
Below are our headcount plan, current headcount, attrition, carried-over openings, contractor spend, and revenue plan. Build a ledger from starting to ending headcount, including attrition and backfills. Recost every role fully loaded, by month. Show in-year cost and year-end run rate. Flag contractors doing permanent work and teams growing faster than revenue. Suggest a cost envelope, team caps, and a midyear release gate. Stop there so we can answer in writing, then review our answers.
How Pingpong runs the review
The web review app sends your request through several models in order. Each later model receives the original request and every earlier answer, with instructions to assess the work so far. For the steps inside the app, see running your first review.
What a model can't review
A model cannot tell which teams are already stretched thin or who is likely to leave next. Compensation and employment questions belong with your people team and counsel.
When the decision goes to the board, see war-game a decision before the board meeting. More guides live under work decisions before you commit.