Building a Sales Growth Engine · Companion Tool · Chapter 7 · Buyer Enablement

Cost-of-Vacancy Calculator

What is that open seat really costing? Enter the role and see the monthly number. Every assumption is visible and adjustable.

Role title

Pay basis

Wage / salary ($)

Days the seat has been open

Value multiple (output value ÷ fully loaded cost; 1.5–3.0 typical for production roles)

Coverage from overtime (%) (reduces lost output, adds premium cost)

This seat is costing you about

The math, in the open

What to do with this number

Take it to your next staffing conversation. A vendor's markup is small next to a seat that bleeds this much per month — which is exactly why speed and show-up rate matter more than rate cards. (Chapter 7 covers pricing transparency; Chapter 10 covers speed.)

Assumptions: 2,080 paid hours and 260 working days per year; fully loaded cost = pay × 1.3 (taxes and benefits); lost value per day = fully loaded daily cost × value multiple; overtime coverage replaces lost value at a 1.5× wage premium. Change the inputs to fit your operation — the point is a defensible order of magnitude, not false precision.

From Building a Sales Growth Engine by David Searns and Victoria Kenward. The full toolkit and workbook are free at growthenginebook.com. Want help building your engine? Talk to the team behind it: