personalbestand

Personalbestand is a German HR term that denotes the total personnel resources an organization has at a given point in time. It refers to the stock of employees available for work and is used for planning, control, and reporting. Depending on the company, the personalbestand may include permanent staff, part-time employees, temporary workers, trainees, and interns, or it may focus on the core workforce. In practice, organizations commonly measure personalbestand as headcount (the number of individuals) and as full-time equivalents (FTE) to account for different working timemodels.

The composition of the personalbestand can be analyzed along several dimensions, such as department or function, contractual form (full-time, part-time, temporary), tenure, age, and qualifications. This granular view supports workforce planning, budgeting, and capacity management, as well as talent management, succession planning, and training needs assessment. Personalbestand data are typically collected from HR information systems, payroll, and time and attendance records and are subject to data protection requirements.

Use and interpretation: management uses the personalbestand to forecast staffing needs, set hiring targets, monitor turnover, and assess cost implications. It is common to track changes over time, vacancy rates, and the balance between permanent and temporary staff. The term is sometimes contrasted with Belegschaft, where Belegschaft may refer more broadly to the workforce able to perform work, while personalbestand emphasizes the formal stock of personnel available for planning and reporting.

Limitations: the definition of what is included in the personalbestand varies by organization, so clear scope should be stated in internal policies to ensure consistent measurement.