Number of employees

The number of employees is one of the most commonly used indicators to determine company size. It reflects how many people work for the organisation, whether full‑time, part‑time, or under other contractual arrangements.

What is it?

The Headcount field represents the total number of employees a company has at a given point in time. Depending on the country and data source, this figure may include only payroll employees or also contractors and collaborators.

While headcount is a good indicator of organisational size, it does not always directly correlate with a company’s economic capacity, as businesses with fewer employees can generate higher revenue through scalable or automated models.

What is it for?

For data and B2B sales teams, Headcount is useful to:

• Segment companies by organisational size.
• Identify potential needs for specific solutions, such as HR software or technological infrastructure.
• Assess hiring and expansion potential.
• Combine with revenue data to estimate productivity and efficiency.

However, different industries require different workforce structures. For example, an industrial company with 500 employees may generate the same revenue as a technology startup with only 50 employees.

Data interpretation

Companies are commonly classified into size ranges based on headcount:

This classification varies by country and industry. In the European Union, for example, companies with fewer than 250 employees are considered SMEs.

Examples