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Employee turnover calculator

Work out your annual turnover and retention rates, and estimate what it costs to replace the people who left.

What's your employee turnover rate?

Headcount

Count everyone on payroll, full and part time, over one year.

Everyone who left during the year, whether they quit or were let go.

Cost of turnover

Hiring, onboarding and the time a new person takes to get up to speed.

$
% of salary
Gallup puts it at 50% to 200%.

Annual turnover rate

15.69%

8 people left out of an average headcount of 51

Average headcount(50 at the start + 52 at the end) ÷ 251
Turnover rate8 who left ÷ 51 average headcount × 10015.69%
Retention rate(50 at the start − 8 who left) ÷ 5084%
Cost to replace them8 people × $60,000 salary × 50%$240,000

Want fewer people to leave? OrgaNice runs pulse surveys and kudos in Slack, so you see who's disengaged before they hand in their notice.

A rough estimate: the real cost depends on the role. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

How to use the employee turnover calculator

  1. Enter the headcount at the start and end of the year, and how many people left during it.

  2. Add the average salary and what replacing one person costs, as a share of salary.

  3. Read the turnover rate, the retention rate and the cost, and copy the result or a link to it.

Turnover at a glance

Employee turnover rate is the share of your team that left over a year. This calculator works it out with your retention rate, and estimates what replacing those people costs.

The employee turnover rate formula

Turnover rate = employees who left ÷ average headcount × 100, where the average headcount is (employees at the start + employees at the end) ÷ 2.

A team that starts the year with 50 people, ends it with 52 and loses 8 along the way has an average headcount of 51 and an annual turnover rate of 8 ÷ 51 × 100 = 15.69%.

Annual turnover rate by team size and the number of people who left, with the same headcount at the start and end of the year.
Team size1 left3 left5 left10 left
10 people10%30%50%100%
20 people5%15%25%50%
50 people2%6%10%20%
100 people1%3%5%10%
200 people0.5%1.5%2.5%5%
500 people0.2%0.6%1%2%

Annual turnover rate by team size and the number of people who left, with the same headcount at the start and end of the year.

Why measure turnover over a year

The same formula works for a month or a quarter, but small teams swing a lot from month to month: one person leaving a 50-person team is 2% in a single month. A full year evens that out. If you only have a monthly rate, multiply it by 12 for a rough yearly pace.

The cost of employee turnover

Every departure costs you the time to hire, onboard and train someone new, and the work that doesn't get done in between. Gallup estimates one-half to two times the employee's annual salary. The calculator starts at 50%, the low end; raise it for senior or hard to fill roles.

The cost of replacing one person, by yearly salary and replacement cost as a share of salary.
Salary50% of salary100% of salary200% of salary
$40,000$20,000$40,000$80,000
$50,000$25,000$50,000$100,000
$60,000$30,000$60,000$120,000
$80,000$40,000$80,000$160,000
$100,000$50,000$100,000$200,000
$150,000$75,000$150,000$300,000

The cost of replacing one person, by yearly salary and replacement cost as a share of salary.

How to lower employee turnover

Start by finding out how people feel while they're still on the team. Short, regular engagement surveys show which teams are struggling, and recognition that happens every week, not once a year, gives people a reason to stay. Plan what that recognition costs with the rewards budget calculator.

Find out why people leave before they do

Learn more
  • A turnover rate tells you how many people left, not why. By the time it moves, they're already gone.

  • OrgaNice runs short pulse surveys in Slack, so you see engagement drop team by team while there's still time to act.

  • Kudos, rewards and birthday and anniversary shoutouts make recognition part of the week, one of the simplest ways to keep good people.

Keep a pulse on your teamRight in Slack

Run engagement surveys and polls where your team already works, and spot problems before they turn into resignations.

Frequently asked questions

Anything else? Email us at hello@organice.app

Divide the number of employees who left during the year by the average number of employees that year, then multiply by 100. The average is the headcount at the start plus the headcount at the end, divided by 2. With 8 leavers and an average of 51 employees, turnover is 8 ÷ 51 × 100 = 15.69%.

There's no single number: turnover runs much higher in retail and hospitality than in finance or government. Compare yourself with your own industry and with your own past years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes monthly separation rates by industry in its JOLTS survey.

Multiply the monthly rate by 12, or a quarterly rate by 4. A 1.5% monthly rate is about 18% a year at the same pace. For the actual annual rate, add up everyone who left during the year and divide by the year's average headcount.

Gallup estimates that replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary, counting hiring, onboarding and lost productivity. Senior and specialist roles sit at the top of that range. The calculator multiplies the number of leavers by salary and your chosen share.

Turnover counts who left, against your average headcount. Retention counts who stayed, against the team you started with: employees at the start minus leavers, divided by employees at the start. The calculator's retention rate assumes everyone who left was there at the start, so new hires who left lower it a little.

For total turnover, yes: count everyone who left, whether they quit, retired or were let go. To see what you can influence, also work out voluntary turnover, counting only the people who chose to leave.