Employee Attrition Rate: How to Calculate and Reduce Turnover
Attrition rate measures how many employees leave. Here's how to calculate it, what counts as healthy, and what high turnover is really costing you.
What attrition rate measures
Attrition (or turnover) rate is the percentage of employees who leave over a period. It's a core people metric — high attrition is expensive and disruptive, while tracking it reveals problems before they spread. The free Attrition Rate Calculator gives you the number and your retention rate.
The formula
Attrition rate = employees who left ÷ average headcount × 100. If 8 people left from an average team of 100, attrition is 8% and retention is 92%.
What's a good rate?
There's no universal benchmark — it varies by industry, role, and region. What matters most is the trend: a rising rate signals issues with pay, management, workload, or culture. Compare against your own history and sector norms.
The hidden cost
Replacing an employee costs recruitment fees, onboarding time, lost productivity, and knowledge walking out the door. Reducing attrition often delivers a better return than almost any growth initiative.
Plan headcount and budget for it with the Employee Cost Calculator.
Use the free Attrition Rate Calculator | Employee Cost Calculator