{
  "version": "1.3.0",
  "releasedAt": "2026-05-20",
  "kpi": {
    "rogueId": "hr.headcount_change",
    "slug": "headcount_change",
    "domain": "hr",
    "defaultLabel": "Net Headcount Change",
    "description": "Net change in employee headcount during the period — new hires minus (voluntary exits + terminations). The bottom-line growth-or-contraction number on the HR scorecard. Common pitfall: reporting net change without showing the gross-in / gross-out components — boards can't diagnose a flat net number caused by 5 hires and 5 exits the same way they'd diagnose a flat number from zero on each side. Best practice is to surface the four components (new hires, voluntary exits, terminations, net change) together.",
    "fieldType": "number",
    "unit": null,
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "preSeed",
      "seed",
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "HR"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "preSeed": "recommended",
      "seed": "recommended",
      "seriesA": "core",
      "seriesB": "core",
      "seriesC": "recommended",
      "public": "recommended"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "editorial",
      "sourceName": "imboard Editorial",
      "sourceUrl": null,
      "sectionRef": null,
      "publicationDate": "2026-04-01",
      "attributionNotice": null
    },
    "formula": "Net Headcount Change = `hr.new_hires` − (`hr.voluntary_exits` + `hr.terminations`). Sign convention: positive = growth, negative = contraction. Does not include contractor changes (those flow through `hr.total_contractors`).",
    "whyItMatters": "Single-number summary of HR's execution in the period and the simplest reconciliation point between this period's `hr.total_headcount` and the prior period's. Variance from `hr.hiring_plan` is the board-conversation trigger.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Pair with the gross flows for diagnosis. A small positive net with high gross-in and gross-out tells a churn story; a large positive net during contraction periods raises plan-discipline questions. Compare to `hr.approved_headcount_budget` for budget-vs-actual posture.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "hr.new_hires",
      "hr.voluntary_exits",
      "hr.terminations",
      "hr.total_headcount",
      "hr.approved_headcount_budget"
    ],
    "metricBasis": {
      "timeBasis": "period_flow",
      "production": "computed"
    }
  }
}