Employee Turnover Rate
Turnover from separations over average headcount, voluntary and involuntary, annualised from any period, with retention, new-hire turnover and replacement cost.
Turnover, voluntary and involuntary rates, the annualised rate, retention of the starting workforce, new-hire turnover, hire and growth rates, a reconciliation check of the counts and the cost at your figure per leaver.
Example: 100 to 104 people in six months with 8 voluntary and 3 involuntary leavers, 15 hires: 11 ÷ 102 = 10.78 % (21.57 % annualised), retention 91 %, new-hire turnover 2 of 15 = 13.3 %.
Separations over
average headcount.
Which definition is used, what the other rates mean, and why the counts are reconciled.
Turnover
Turnover = separations ÷ average headcount, with the average taken as (headcount at the start + at the end) ÷ 2 — the convention in SHRM guidance and ISO 30414. Voluntary (resignations, retirements) and involuntary (dismissals, redundancies) separations are shown separately and together. A period shorter or longer than a year is annualised by × 12 ÷ months, a straight scaling.
Retention, new hires, growth
Retention = employees present at the start who are still employed at the end ÷ starting headcount; leavers who were hired during the period are not among the starters, so they are excluded from that numerator. New-hire turnover = those leavers ÷ hires. Hire rate = hires ÷ average headcount; growth = (end − start) ÷ start. Replacement cost multiplies separations by the cost per leaver you enter.
Reconciliation
Start + hires − separations should equal the end headcount; when it does not, the page says so rather than silently computing — transfers, contractors, part-period changes or a miscount are the usual reasons. Definitions vary between HR systems, so state yours when comparing with anyone else's figure. No benchmark is built in. Nothing leaves the browser; the same four anonymous usage counts as the rest of the site apply.
SOURCES
- Turnover = separations ÷ ((headcount start + end) ÷ 2) — the SHRM / ISO 30414 convention; retention = starting employees still employed ÷ start; annualised by × 12 ÷ months
Last reviewed 22 September 2026. How results are checked: How we verify.