FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) is a standard way of measuring how much work a person (or group) contributes, relative to a full-time schedule.
In Runn, the number of hours in one FTE is determined by the Default full-time hours defined in Account Settings.
Understand the Definition
1.0 FTE = one full-time employee working the default full-time hours (often 40 hours per week).
0.5 FTE = someone working half-time (e.g., 20 hours per week if 40 is the default full-time).
So FTE lets you normalize different working arrangements into a single comparable unit.
Formula for FTE
The general formula is:
FTE = Total Hours / Default full-time hours
If full-time = 40 hours/week and an employee works 30 hours/week:
FTE=30/ 40=0.75 FTE
If two part-timers both work 20 hours/week:
Each = 0.5 FTE → together = 1.0 FTE
Project / Team FTE
When planning resources, you often sum the FTEs across people:
Example:
Alice = 1.0 FTE
Bob = 0.5 FTE
Claire = 0.25 FTE
Total team FTE = 1.75
This helps you compare against project demand. If a project requires 3 FTEs, but you only have 1.75 available, you know you’re under-resourced.
Time-Phased FTE
In project planning, you may calculate FTEs over a month or year:
Step 1: Total hours worked in period ÷ default full-time hours in that period.
Example: If default full-time hours per month = 160 (40×4), and one person logs 120 hours in March:
FTE=120/ 160=0.75 FTE
Uses of FTE in Resource Management
Capacity planning: Ensure you don’t over-allocate resources.
Budgeting: Translate FTEs into cost.
Scenario planning: Test if projects are feasible with the current headcount.
Benchmarking: Compare resource usage across teams/projects.