Employees per strategy & chief of staff staff member

Across 126 named companies in 12 industries, the median is 40.2 employees per staff member, from 7.0 at The Sherwin-Williams Company to 166.7 at James Hardie. Lean quartile 60.9, heavy quartile 25.5.

Quartiles. Lean quartile 60.9, heavy quartile 25.5 employees per staff member (lean = fewer people per unit, which on this metric is the 75th percentile (each staff member covers more); heavy = the 25th).

Definition

Counts people whose title places them in the function: an exact count for the org and a floor for the process, since someone in another function may perform part of it.

Also called: acquisitions, corporate strategy, digital transformation, executive, mergers & acquisitions, project & program management.

Building products manufacturers

Across 9 building products manufacturers, the median is 50.0 employees per staff member, from 22.1 at Simpson Strong-Tie to 166.7 at James Hardie. Lean quartile 71.1, heavy quartile 46.0.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of July 2026. The building products benchmark.

Tool & industrial manufacturers

Across 7 tool & industrial manufacturers, the median is 38.5 employees per staff member, from 29.6 at Kennametal Inc. to 131.6 at Klein Tools. Quartiles are published at 8 or more companies; this cut has 7.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of July 2026. The tool & industrial benchmark.

Food & CPG companies

Across 13 food & CPG companies, the median is 38.3 employees per staff member, from 23.2 at General Mills to 66.0 at Hormel Foods. Lean quartile 50.3, heavy quartile 32.8.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of July 2026. The food & CPG benchmark.

Toy & game companies

Across 9 toy & game companies, the median is 34.5 employees per staff member, from 15.5 at JAKKS Pacific, Inc. to 70.8 at The LEGO Group. Lean quartile 61.9, heavy quartile 17.5.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of August 2026. The toy & game benchmark.

Apparel & footwear companies

Across 12 apparel & footwear companies, the median is 38.7 employees per staff member, from 11.6 at Levi Strauss & Co. to 83.2 at Carter's, Inc.. Lean quartile 49.2, heavy quartile 32.1.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of August 2026. The apparel & footwear benchmark.

B2B software companies

Across 10 B2B software companies, the median is 25.6 employees per staff member, from 15.8 at Yext to 76.2 at Olo. Lean quartile 31.8, heavy quartile 24.1.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of August 2026. The B2B software benchmark.

Furniture & furnishings makers

Across 9 furniture & furnishings makers, the median is 35.2 employees per staff member, from 10.9 at Bassett Furniture Industries to 79.7 at La-Z-Boy Incorporated. Lean quartile 60.9, heavy quartile 25.5.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The furniture & furnishings benchmark.

Beverage companies

Across 12 beverage companies, the median is 34.7 employees per staff member, from 12.0 at The Vita Coco Company, Inc. to 139.8 at National Beverage Corp.. Lean quartile 47.0, heavy quartile 22.2.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The beverage benchmark.

Appliance & housewares makers

Across 10 appliance & housewares makers, the median is 23.1 employees per staff member, from 18.1 at Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company to 93.5 at Weber. Lean quartile 34.2, heavy quartile 20.3.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The appliance & housewares benchmark.

Coatings & specialty chemical makers

Across 13 coatings & specialty chemical makers, the median is 33.1 employees per staff member, from 7.0 at The Sherwin-Williams Company to 51.0 at Innospec Inc.. Lean quartile 42.7, heavy quartile 19.8.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The coatings & specialty chemical benchmark.

Packaging & container makers

Across 12 packaging & container makers, the median is 71.2 employees per staff member, from 28.2 at Ball Corporation to 149.4 at Crown Holdings, Inc.. Lean quartile 97.7, heavy quartile 58.4.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The packaging & container benchmark.

Foodservice distribution distributors

Across 10 foodservice distribution distributors, the median is 67.7 employees per staff member, from 34.3 at United Natural Foods, Inc. to 161.3 at Shamrock Foods Company. Lean quartile 88.7, heavy quartile 51.9.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The foodservice distribution benchmark.

Get this cut as data

$150 per industry cut adds CSV and a benchmark-format row.

Subscription benchmarks publish this kind of figure as anonymous quartiles; the cut here names every company and dates every number.

Read https://sgabenchmarking.com/skill.md and follow the instructions to connect SG&A Benchmarking.