Free ForeverNo SignupReplacement CostUpdated 2026

Employee Turnover Calculator

Calculate your turnover rate and the real cost of losing employees — most companies underestimate it significantly.

Turnover rate = (Employees who left ÷ Average headcount) × 100. The true cost of turnover is 50–200% of annual salary — covering recruiting, onboarding, training, and lost productivity during the ramp period. High-performing employees are even more expensive to replace.

Employees Who Left

Number of employees who left in the past 12 months

Average Headcount

Average number of employees over the period

Average Annual Salary

Average salary of departed employees

Typical Role Level

Replacement cost varies significantly by seniority

The Formula

Turnover % = Departed ÷ Avg Headcount × 100. Total Cost = Departed × Salary × Multiplier

In plain English

Turnover rate = employees left / average headcount × 100. Cost = departures × (salary × replacement multiplier).

Worked Example

5 left from 40 employees = 12.5% turnover. 5 × ($90K × 1.0×) = $450K annual turnover cost.

The Real Cost of Turnover

The 50–200% of salary replacement cost estimate breaks down as: recruiting fees or job ads ($5–15K), HR time for interviews and screening, onboarding and training (30–90 days), and productivity loss during the ramp period (3–9 months to full productivity).

The less visible costs: institutional knowledge loss, team morale impact, manager time diverted to recruiting, and client relationship disruption. For senior or specialised roles, the total cost can significantly exceed 200% of annual salary.

50–200%

Typical replacement cost as % of salary

10–15%

Average tech sector turnover rate

3–9 mo

Time to full productivity for a new hire

$4,000

Average cost per hire (job boards + HR time)

Annual Turnover Rate Benchmarks (2026)

Industry	Low (Good)	Average	High (Concerning)
Tech / SaaS	< 8%	10–15%	> 20%
Professional Services	< 10%	12–18%	> 25%
Retail / Hourly	< 25%	40–60%	> 80%
Healthcare	< 15%	18–25%	> 35%

Source: SHRM 2025 Talent Report · LinkedIn Workforce Report 2024

Common Mistakes

⚠️

Treating all turnover as bad

Some turnover is healthy — low performers leaving, poor cultural fits moving on, natural career progression. The goal is retaining your top 20%, not achieving 0% turnover. Measure regrettable vs. non-regrettable turnover separately.

⚠️

Only counting direct replacement costs

Job ads and recruiter fees are just the visible portion. The full cost includes manager time in interviews, the onboarding programme, reduced productivity for 3–9 months, and the impact on team morale and productivity.

⚠️

Not tracking turnover by department or manager

Company-wide turnover can mask a single bad manager or toxic team. Break down turnover by department and tenure (are people leaving in year 1? year 3?) to identify root causes.