Employee Turnover Rate Calculator Formula

Understand the math behind the employee turnover rate calculator. Each variable explained with a worked example.

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Formulas Used

Turnover Rate

turnover_rate = (headcount_start + headcount_end) > 0 ? (separations / ((headcount_start + headcount_end) / 2)) * 100 : 0

Average Headcount

avg_headcount = (headcount_start + headcount_end) / 2

Retention Rate

retention_rate = (headcount_start + headcount_end) > 0 ? (1 - separations / ((headcount_start + headcount_end) / 2)) * 100 : 0

Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
separationsNumber of Separations12
headcount_startHeadcount at Start of Period200
headcount_endHeadcount at End of Period210

How It Works

How to Calculate Employee Turnover Rate

Formula

Turnover Rate = (Separations / Average Headcount) x 100 Average Headcount = (Beginning + Ending Headcount) / 2

Turnover captures both voluntary departures (resignations) and involuntary ones (terminations, layoffs). High turnover drains institutional knowledge, disrupts teams, and increases recruiting and training costs. Tracking turnover by department, tenure, and role uncovers patterns that targeted retention strategies can address.

Worked Example

A company starts the year with 200 employees, ends with 210, and 12 employees left during the year.

separations = 12headcount_start = 200headcount_end = 210
  1. 01Average Headcount = (200 + 210) / 2 = 205
  2. 02Turnover Rate = (12 / 205) x 100 = 5.85%
  3. 03Retention Rate = (1 - 12/205) x 100 = 94.15%

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