Employee Turnover Rate Calculator

How it works

Turnover = separations ÷ average headcount; average headcount = (start + end) ÷ 2; annualised = period rate × 12 ÷ months; retention = 1 − voluntary turnover; cost = annual leavers × replacement cost

Turnover rate is the share of the workforce that left in a period, measured against average headcount so that growth or shrinkage does not distort it. Splitting leavers matters more than the headline: involuntary exits are management decisions, voluntary exits signal how the organisation is experienced, and regretted voluntary exits — strong performers who chose to go — are the ones that actually hurt. Annualising a single month is noisy, so most teams track a rolling twelve-month figure and compare it with industry norms (roughly 10–15% in professional services, 30% or more in retail and hospitality). Costed at a realistic replacement figure — commonly 50–200% of salary once recruiting, onboarding, ramp-up and lost output are counted — turnover is usually one of the largest controllable line items a business has.

Worked example

Twelve leavers in a month (9 voluntary, 3 involuntary) against an average headcount of 426: 2.8% for the month, 33.8% annualised — 25.4% voluntary, of which four regretted leavers make 11.3% regretted attrition. At $18,000 a head that is about $2.6 M a year.

Frequently asked questions