Inputs
Example Data Table
| Scenario | Days | Employees | Planned hrs/day | Actual hrs/day | Hourly cost | Loss % | Estimated impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline operations | 20 | 10 | 6.5 | 5.9 | $28 | 9.23% | $1,018.78 |
| High interruption period | 20 | 25 | 6.0 | 4.6 | $35 | 23.33% | $9,479.17 |
| Recovery via overtime | 5 | 12 | 6.0 | 5.0 | $22 | 16.67% | $1,642.50 |
Formula Used
Actual Hours (hours mode) = Days × Employees × ActualHoursPerDay
Actual Hours (percent mode) = Planned Hours × (Efficiency% ÷ 100)
Lost Hours = max(0, Planned Hours − Actual Hours)
Loss% = (Lost Hours ÷ Planned Hours) × 100
MakeupHours = Lost Hours × (Makeup% ÷ 100)
Unrecovered = Lost Hours − MakeupHours
ReworkHours = Lost Hours × (Rework% ÷ 100)
DirectLostCost = Unrecovered × HourlyCost × OverheadFactor
OvertimeCost = MakeupHours × HourlyCost × OverheadFactor × (1 + Premium% ÷ 100)
ReworkCost = ReworkHours × HourlyCost × OverheadFactor
DirectImpact = DirectLostCost + OvertimeCost + ReworkCost
RevenueAtRisk = Unrecovered × RevenuePerHour × OpportunityMultiplier
Else:
OpportunityCost = DirectImpact × (OpportunityMultiplier − 1)
TotalImpact = DirectImpact + OpportunityCost + RevenueAtRisk
How to Use This Calculator
- Pick a period using days (week, month, or custom).
- Choose a measurement method: hours-based if you track productive time, or percent-based if you only have efficiency KPIs.
- Enter cost assumptions: hourly cost and any extra overhead you want to allocate.
- Model recovery and friction: overtime make‑up represents effort to catch up; rework drag represents churn caused by misalignment.
- Export CSV for spreadsheets and PDF for sharing or audits.
Operational baseline inputs
Start with days, affected employees, and planned productive hours per day. Many teams plan 5.5–7.5 focused hours inside an eight-hour day. If you only track KPIs, use efficiency percent; if you track time, use actual productive hours. The calculator converts these into planned hours, actual hours, and lost hours for the selected period. Loss percentage highlights whether gaps are occasional noise or a structural issue across the workforce.
Cost conversion with overhead
Hourly cost should represent fully loaded labor, then overhead adds facilities, software, management time, and shared services. A 10–25% overhead add-on is common for office roles, while higher values suit field-heavy or tool-intensive work. Direct lost cost uses unrecovered lost hours. Overtime cost applies to the recovered portion and includes the premium. Rework drag adds extra hours caused by context switching, unclear requirements, or repeated handoffs.
Recovery strategy and overtime tradeoffs
Make-up percentage represents how much lost capacity is recovered by extending work, shortening breaks, or adding shifts. Recovery reduces unrecovered loss, but overtime often increases error rates and fatigue. Use a premium of 25–75% depending on policy and burnout risk. If overtime is routinely used, compare scenarios: lowering meeting load by 10% may outperform paying overtime. The component table shows how each lever shifts hours and cost.
Second-order impact and revenue-at-risk
Opportunity multiplier captures downstream effects such as delayed launches, missed client responses, and slower cycle times. When revenue per productive hour is known, the model estimates revenue at risk from unrecovered hours and scales it by the multiplier. If revenue is unknown, the multiplier applies an uplift to direct impact to represent missed opportunities. Keep the multiplier conservative (1.10–1.40) unless you have evidence of compounding delays.
Using results for continuous improvement
Treat the total impact as a prioritization signal. High loss percentages suggest workflow fixes: clearer priorities, protected focus blocks, faster approvals, and fewer parallel initiatives. Track weekly values to see whether changes stick. Export CSV for trend charts and budget discussions, and export PDF for leadership updates. Document notes such as “onboarding week” or “quarterly close” to explain outliers and prevent misleading comparisons. Pair these outputs with a simple action log to quantify savings from each improvement experiment over time.
FAQs
What should I use for “planned productive hours per day”?
Use the time you expect for deep work after meetings and breaks. Many knowledge teams plan 5.5–7.5 productive hours. If you have time-tracking, use the average focused time per person.
When should I choose percent mode instead of hours mode?
Choose percent mode when you measure output with KPIs, tickets, or cycle time, but lack reliable time data. Enter efficiency versus plan, and the calculator converts it into equivalent productive hours.
How do I set overhead percent?
Use overhead to represent shared costs beyond wages, such as tools, facilities, managers, and enablement teams. Start with 10–25% for office work, then adjust based on your cost model.
What does “make-up via overtime” represent?
It models the portion of lost time you recover by extending work. Recovery reduces unrecovered loss, but the overtime premium increases cost. Keep make-up realistic to avoid hiding persistent workflow problems.
What is rework drag, and why include it?
Rework drag estimates extra hours created by inefficiency, like repeated handoffs, unclear requirements, or context switching. It prevents underestimating cost when teams spend additional time fixing avoidable issues.
How are PDF and CSV exports generated?
CSV is created on the server from your latest submission stored in the session. PDF is generated in your browser using the saved inputs and outputs, formatted as two tables for sharing.