Forecast Overview
Introduction to Forecast and headcount planning
Forecast is Agentnoon's pivot table-style visualization tool for analyzing headcount and workforce costs over time. It provides flexible ways to view and aggregate data from your Main Org or Scenarios — by department, location, time period, and more.
Key principle — Forecast shows you what's already in your data. To model changes (adding positions, closing roles, moving people), use Scenarios. To see those changes projected over time, use Forecast.
Accessing Forecast
From Main Org or any scenario: click the module dropdown at the top > select Forecast.
How Forecast Works
Forecast functions like a pivot table with three key components:
Row Aggregator — Defines each row. Choose how to group your data:
People — one row per person
Department — one row per department
Location — one row per location/country
Employee Type — one row per employee type
Any custom field — group by pay grade, business unit, etc.
Columns — What appears across the top:
Time periods: Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly
Monetary fields: Salary, bonuses, allowances, or other compensation components
Multiple pay components can be shown simultaneously (e.g., salary + bonus)
Values — What's measured. Toggle between:
Headcount — number of positions/employees
Cost — workforce cost (salary and configured compensation)
Understanding Forecast Data
Headcount view:
Current headcount reflects positions that exist today
Future headcount appears based on hire dates in your data
If a position has a hire date in Q3, that headcount appears starting in Q3
Headcount doesn't divide by 12 — a position in 2026 persists into 2027 unless it has a termination date
Example: You have 100 employees today and 10 positions with hire dates in Q2 2026. Forecast will show:
Q1 2026: 100 headcount
Q2 2026: 110 headcount (10 new hires added)
Q3 2026: 110 headcount (no terminations, headcount persists)
Cost view:
Annual salaries are what's stored in Agentnoon
Monthly view divides annual salary by 12
Quarterly view shows salary for that quarter
Yearly view shows full annual cost
Cost increases when positions with hire dates become active
Note: Agentnoon supports annualizable compensation. One-time payments (signing bonuses, spot bonuses) are not currently supported in Forecast.
Key Forecast Capabilities
Flexible aggregation — View your workforce from any angle:
Aggregate by department to see total departmental costs
Aggregate by location to understand geographic distribution
Aggregate by employee type to distinguish contractors vs. full-time
Time-based analysis:
Monthly — Precise month-by-month projections; annual cost divided by 12
Quarterly — Standard for budget planning and board reporting
Yearly — Best for annual budget planning; shows full annual cost per year; up to 5 years
Before / After / Changes (scenarios only):
Show Before — Main Org baseline (current state)
Show After — Scenario final state
Show Changes — Delta between before and after
Example: You move 5 people from Network Ops to Operations & Logistics:
After view — shows all 5 people in Operations & Logistics
Changes view — shows -5 in Network Ops, +5 in Operations & Logistics
Note: "Show Before" always references your Main Org, not the starting state of a scenario or any other scenario.
Filtering and search — Apply filters and search for specific positions or employees. Filters apply globally across Directory, Forecast, and Workforce Hub.
Export — Download forecast data to CSV for further analysis in Excel or presentations.
Forecast Limitations
Data input — you can't add positions or make changes
Scenarios
Budget targets or goals
Coming soon
Approval workflows
Scenarios
Tracking actuals vs. budget variance over time
Your FP&A tool
Common Use Cases
Quarterly headcount planning — Aggregate by Department > view Quarterly > Headcount > see headcount growth projections based on hire dates.
Annual budget planning — Aggregate by Department or Cost Center > view Yearly > switch to Cost > see total annual workforce cost by department.
Multi-year strategic planning — Create a scenario with phased hiring (hire dates in 2026, 2027, 2028) > view Yearly in Forecast > see headcount and cost ramp over 3 years > aggregate by Department to see where growth is concentrated.
RIF or budget cut impact — Create a scenario closing positions with effective dates > view Monthly or Quarterly > see exactly when cost reductions take effect > aggregate by Department to show department-specific impact.
Forecast and Effective Dates
Beyond hire and termination dates, you can use effective dates to model changes over time.
In a scenario, make a change (move someone to a new department, change their salary)
Assign an effective date to that change (e.g., January 2027)
In Forecast, that change appears starting in the effective date period
Example: 5 people currently in Network Operations are planned to move to Operations & Logistics in 2027. Change their department field and set effective date to January 2027. In Forecast, they appear in Network Ops through 2026, then shift to Operations & Logistics from January 2027.
Alternative approach for headcount tracking:
Close 5 positions in Network Ops (with effective date)
Add 5 positions in Operations & Logistics (with hire date)
This shows a clear -5 / +5 split in Changes view
Getting Started with Forecast
Step 1: Understand your current state
Go to Main Org > Forecast
Aggregate by Department > view Yearly
This shows your current workforce cost by department
Step 2: Model future changes in a scenario
Create a new scenario
Add positions with hire dates for future quarters
Close positions with termination dates if modeling attrition
Assign effective dates to changes you want phased over time
Step 3: View your scenario in Forecast
Open your scenario > switch to Forecast
Toggle between Before, After, and Changes
Adjust time granularity (Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly)
Aggregate by the dimension that matters (Department, Location, etc.)
Step 4: Export and share
Export to CSV
Share projections with Finance, HR leadership, or executives
Use exported data in presentations or budget planning tools
Next Steps
Forecast Navigation - Master the Forecast interface and controls
Building Headcount Forecasts - Create your first forecast
Multi-Year Planning - Long-term workforce projections
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