Employee Turnover, Attrition & Retention Rate Calculator
Last updated FreeNo signupFormula shown
Enter your headcount and separations for any period and get your turnover rate, retention rate, and an annualized figure you can benchmark. Works for turnover and attrition. The formula is the same; only what you count as a separation changes.
Count everyone who left, voluntary and involuntary. For attrition rate, count only the departures you didn't backfill.
Annual turnover rate
12.2%
separations ÷ average headcount (98) × 100
Retention rate
88%
share of the starting headcount that stayed the whole period (assumes all leavers were part of the starting headcount)
The formulas behind the numbers
Turnover rate = (separations ÷ average headcount) × 100
Retention rate = (employees who stayed the whole period ÷ employees at the start) × 100
Average headcount is the simple average of your starting and ending headcount. The two rates answer different questions (turnover counts events against your average size, retention tracks what happened to the people you started with), which is why they don't always sum neatly to 100%. The retention figure assumes every separation came from the starting headcount, so if you hired during the period, count only the leavers who were employed at the start. For the full treatment of edge cases (mid-period hires, averaging choices, monthly vs annual reporting), see our guide on how to calculate employee turnover rate. If retention is the number you actually report, the employee retention rate calculator asks about the two cohorts separately, so it needs no such assumption.
Turnover vs. attrition: same math, different meaning
This calculator doubles as an attrition rate calculator. The formula is identical: departures over average headcount. The difference is what you count: turnover normally includes every separation you intend to backfill, while attrition refers to departures that permanently shrink the team. Whichever you report, define it once and keep it consistent, or quarter-over-quarter comparisons become meaningless. We unpack the distinction (and when each number matters) in our attrition rate guide.
Reading your result
- Trend beats benchmark. A rising monthly rate is worth investigating even if the absolute number still looks "normal" for your industry.
- Segment the number. Break it down by team, manager, location, and tenure band. Company-wide averages hide the story.
- Split regretted from non-regretted. A rate driven by exits you wanted is a different problem (or no problem) compared to losing the people you most needed to keep.
Methodology & sources
The formula this calculator uses is shown in full above, and every assumption is an input you control. There are no hidden industry presets. All math runs in your browser; nothing you enter is stored or sent to a server. For the reasoning behind the formula and its edge cases, see:
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<p>Calculator by <a href="https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/employee-turnover-rate-calculator">TeamPredict</a></p>Frequently asked questions
- Which separations should I count?
- Count everyone who left the organization during the period, voluntary and involuntary, unless you're deliberately measuring only one type. Don't count internal transfers or role changes; those people are still in headcount. For an attrition rate, count only the departures you don't backfill. Whichever definition you use, state it alongside the number so comparisons stay honest.
- How do I annualize a monthly turnover rate?
- Multiply a monthly rate by 12 (a quarterly rate by 4). That's what this calculator's annualized figure does when you pick a monthly or quarterly period. Treat it as a run rate, not a forecast: it assumes the period's pace holds for a full year, so annualizing one unusually spiky month will overstate your true annual rate.
- How does the retention rate handle people hired during the period?
- This calculator computes retention as (starting headcount − separations) ÷ starting headcount, which assumes every leaver was on staff at the start of the period. If you hired during the period and some of those hires left, enter only the leavers who were employed at the start. Otherwise the retention figure will read lower than the true rate for your starting cohort.
- Can I use this calculator for a single team or department?
- Yes: team-, manager-, and location-level rates usually tell you more than the company-wide average, and the math is identical. Just remember that small denominators are noisy: one departure from an eight-person team is a 12.5% rate, so read small-team results as a trend over several periods rather than a single-period verdict.
- Should contractors count in headcount?
- Most teams exclude contractors and other contingent workers from both headcount and separations, because planned contract end dates would inflate the rate without saying anything about retention. Whichever you decide, apply it to the numerator and the denominator alike, and keep it consistent period over period.
Turnover is cheaper to prevent than to calculate.
TeamPredict flags resignation risk early from public LinkedIn signals, giving you lead time to retain your best people before they hand in notice.
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