What is staff turnover?

Both count the people who leave over a period as a share of the workforce. The words differ by region: staff turnover is the usual phrase in the UK, Ireland, India, Australia and much of the Commonwealth, and employee turnover in the US. Labour turnover is an older name you will still see in some reports.

Other words for the same idea include employee churn and staff churn. When a report says attrition, check whether it means every leaver or only the roles that were not refilled.

Worth knowing when you read benchmarks or vendor material: a UK report on staff turnover and a US report on employee turnover are measuring the same thing.

The same applies inside one company. If a UK office reports staff turnover and a US office reports employee turnover, check that both use the same separation rule and the same denominator before they share a slide.

The average number of staff is the number at the start of the period plus the number at the end, divided by two. In other words, separations ÷ average headcount × 100, the same formula as the turnover rate.

Take an invented care home group that employs 120 staff at the start of the year and 130 at the end, with 25 leavers during the year.

Average staff is (120 + 130) ÷ 2 = 125, so staff turnover is 25 ÷ 125 × 100 = 20% for the year.

Published staff turnover figures vary enormously by sector, role and region, and rarely say exactly who they counted. Compare this year with your own previous years first, and split the total into voluntary and involuntary leavers.

• Comparing a UK staff turnover figure with a US employee turnover figure without checking that both counted the same leavers.
• Including agency or bank staff one year and leaving them out the next.
• Counting moves between your own sites as leavers, which inflates the rate.
• Looking at the annual figure only. A monthly view shows whether leavers cluster after a change.