The Headcount Experts
A Podcast on Headcount Excellence
Helping you build an exceptional headcount process, one episode at a time.
World-class workforce management & headcount planning strategies are out there. This podcast delivers them straight to your inbox.
The Headcount Experts consolidates 40 combined years of workforce planning experience from the biggest companies in the world. In each episode, you’ll gain valuable insight into how processes are built and how you can make that success your own.
About the hosts
Eric Guidice and Chris Mannion are ex-operators from Fortune 500 companies who turned their workforce planning & headcount management playbook into industry leading software solutions
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Missed an episode? Catch up on past conversations about headcount, hiring, and workforce planning.
How AI is Redefining the Finance and Headcount Playbook
Traditional workforce planning is dying. Reed Gilbert, CFO at Reprise, reveals how he utilizes AI to compress months of financial modeling into minutes and why he’s trading headcount budget for AI tokens. If you want to understand how to increase your ARR per employee and build a hyper-productive, lean team that outpaces the competition, this is a must-listen.
Headcount Data can make or break your QBR
In a market where profit-to-productivity ratios are under intense scrutiny, this post provides the framework for diagnosing organizational inefficiencies before they become fatal to the bottom line. Headcount is no longer the bottleneck to adding productivity.
Incorporating Headcount Data in Your Dashboards
Move beyond static reporting by applying human-factors design to your data. This episode reveals how to build persona-based dashboards that align recruiting velocity with financial headcount targets, ensuring your data signals critical risks before they impact company revenue
Headcount Execution and Finance
Master headcount execution by bridging the gap between annual planning and monthly delivery. Learn the five-step operational loop—including snapshot mapping, prioritization frameworks, and capacity-demand matching—to ensure your recruiting team meets business goals with credibility and data-driven precision.
How to Build a Recruiting Capacity Model (part 2)
Transition from reactive hiring to proactive business planning by adopting a "People Supply Chain" model that quantifies capacity and attrition in real-time.
How to Build a Recruiting Capacity Model (part 1)
In this episode, Eric Guidice and Chris Mannion unpack key inputs to making capacity work and why predictable hiring requires more than just adding recruiters.
Best Practices for Hiring Plan Kickoff
The first Headcount Experts episode of 2026 breaks down the five operational best practices that turn a hiring plan into a predictable, executable workforce strategy.
How Portfolio Context Changes Headcount Planning
How does headcount planning change when you operate inside an Alphabet portfolio company? In this bonus episode, Jason Gingrich of Intrinsic breaks down how moonshot teams plan hiring, align with finance, and model recruiter capacity using data instead of guesswork. Listeners will walk away with practical ideas for forecasting, prioritization, and defending hiring plans with confidence.
Building a Headcount Execution Strategy
Execution is where plans succeed or fail. In this episode of Headcount Experts, we break down how recruiting capacity, financial constraints, AI, and org design collide after Q4. If you are planning for 2026, this is the conversation you need to hear.
Managing Stakeholder Dynamics in Headcount Planning
This episode explains how every stakeholder, from Finance to HRBPs to hiring managers, shapes the headcount plan, and why data, ROI, and communication determine whether planning succeeds or collapses.
8 Steps to Close Out This Year’s Headcount Plan
This episode explains the full lifecycle of closing out your annual headcount plan — from data cleanup and prioritization to finance alignment and cross-functional communication. Eric and Chris walk through the eight essential steps TA, HR, and FP&A leaders must take to create a clean transition into the next plan year. Listeners will learn how to manage variance, set expectations, navigate global nuances, and build a predictable Q1 launch.