10 Essential Workforce Planning Metrics to Track – 2025

What are the Top 10 Workforce Planning Metrics?

Here are the top 10 workforce planning metrics that help you to align staffing needs with their goals:

1. Headcount

Headcount is the simplest yet most important workforce planning metric. It represents the total number of employees working in an organisation at a given time.

Tracking headcount helps you to understand the size of your workforce, identify if departments are overstaffed or understaffed, and whether it matches your current business needs. It provides clear insights into workforce capacity, helping you to make informed staffing decisions.

Do You Know?

As of May 2025, India's Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) stood at 54.8%, with rural areas at 56.9% and urban areas at 50.4%.

This statistic shows how much of the working-age population is actively available for work, helping businesses in workforce planning.

2. Turnover Rate

The turnover rate is a measure of how many employees leave the company in a given time. It includes both resignations and terminations. A high rate of turnover usually indicates issues such as job dissatisfaction, poor leadership or an absence of career development.

It is important to control the turnover rate since hiring and training new staff is expensive and time-consuming. High turnover disrupts the productivity and may damage team morale, as skilled employees continue to leave. You can identify problems and take action by analysing the turnover rate.

3. Attrition Rate

Attrition rate is close to turnover rate, but it pays attention to employees who leave but are not replaced. Attrition is frequently a natural reduction in the workforce, including retirements or resignations, where the jobs do not get filled.

This metric helps you to understand the long-term workforce shortage. A high attrition rate shows that the rate of staff leaving exceeds the rate of staff being replaced, leading to staffing gaps in the long term.

4. Cost per Hire

Cost per hire is a measure of how much it costs to recruit and onboard a new employee. This covers advertising of jobs, recruitment agency costs, interviews, background checks, training, and technology costs.

Knowing this cost helps you to budget for recruitment more effectively and improve your hiring strategy. A high cost per hire shows that you are overspending on hiring processes or struggling to attract the right candidates.

5. Retention Rate

Retention rate is the opposite of turnover, it shows how many employees stay in the company over a period of time. A high retention rate is a good indicator of employee satisfaction , good leadership, and a healthy workplace culture.

You can improve retention by focusing on employee engagement, career development, and recognition. Regular surveys and feedback sessions help you to understand what employees need to stay motivated and to increase the retention rate.

6. Skills Gap Analysis

Skills gap analysis identifies the difference between the skills employees currently have and the skills your business needs to achieve goals. It’s one of the most active workforce metrics.

You can clearly see where training or hiring is needed by conducting this analysis. Regular skills assessments also help you to stay competitive. This makes your employees ready for new technologies, market developments, and customer needs.

7. Employee Productivity

Employee productivity measures how effectively employees complete tasks or produce output within a certain time. It helps determine whether the workforce is operating at an optimal level.

Tracking productivity highlights both the strengths and inefficiencies of your employees. Mainly, productivity increases through better resource allocation, automation, and streamlined workflows. At the same time, you must balance productivity goals with employee well-being to avoid burnout.

8. Employee Engagement

Employee engagement shows the commitment and motivation of employees towards their work and the objectives of the company. Engaged employees show higher productivity, greater creativity, and stronger loyalty to the company.

Lack of engagement may cause employee absenteeism, low productivity, and high turnover. That's why conducting regular surveys helps to measure your employee sentiment and satisfaction. Improved employee engagement results in improved communication, recognition, and career development.

9. Internal Mobility Rate

Internal mobility rate is a measure of the employees transferred into new positions, whether through promotions, lateral transfers, or project-based appointments. It indicates the effectiveness of your company in supporting employee and career development.

High internal mobility indicates that there is a healthy workplace. It also reduces the cost of hiring, because promotions within the company are less expensive and faster than external recruitment. Promotion within the organisation enhances loyalty among employees and increases team morale.

10. Diversity Ratio

Diversity ratio compares the various groups in your labour force, including gender, ethnicity, age, and education. A multicultural workforce generally introduces new ideas and leads to innovation.

This metric is very important if you want to build an inclusive workplace. The low diversity ratio can be a sign of gaps in hiring. By tracking and improving diversity, you can strengthen your employer brand, attract top talent, and create a more collaborative and fair work environment.