The Q1 capacity gap you can see coming
Every year: "We should have hired three months ago." Every year: too late.
Reactive hiring is expensive - overtime, burnout, dropped balls, and then a rushed recruitment process that doesn't find the right person. Proactive capacity planning sees the gap coming and starts recruiting before you're underwater.
The scenario:
You want to forecast Q1 capacity needs and make hiring decisions before you're desperate.
The prompt:
You're planning Q1 capacity.
Data: [paste current headcount, utilisation, pipeline, growth targets]
Create a forecast that:
- Projects workload based on current clients + pipeline conversion
- Models scenarios (conservative, expected, aggressive growth)
- Identifies when capacity will be exceeded in each scenario
- Calculates cost of delay (overtime, turnover, opportunity cost)
- Recommends hiring timeline, role specs, and alternatives (contractors, outsourcing)
Include a decision framework for "hire now vs. wait and see."