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Cost of Employee Turnover

Estimate the annual cost of employees leaving.

About Cost of Employee Turnover

Every departure costs recruiting, onboarding and lost productivity, and multiplying that by the expected number of exits yields the yearly bill. Turnover is usually the largest invisible cost in a labor-heavy business, so putting a dollar figure on it justifies retention spending.

Formula

Cost of Employee Turnover

Turnover cost = salary x replacement% x (headcount x turnover rate)

replacement cost
Recruiting, training and lost productivity when someone leaves

Worked example

With the default values below, Cost of Employee Turnover returns Cost per Exit of $25,000.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Average annual salaryminimum 0
50,000
Replacement cost as share of salaryaccepts 0–300 %
50 %
Annual turnover rateaccepts 0–100 %
15 %
Total headcountminimum 0
40

Results

Cost per Exit
$25,000.00
Estimated Annual Exits
6
Annual Turnover Cost
$150,000.00

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Cost of Employee Turnover
  3. 3Cost per Exit= 25,000.00
  4. 4Estimated Annual Exits= 6
  5. 5Annual Turnover Cost= 150,000.00

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation or tax into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Cost of Employee Turnover calculated?

Turnover cost = salary x replacement% x (headcount x turnover rate) Every departure costs recruiting, onboarding and lost productivity, and multiplying that by the expected number of exits yields the yearly bill.

Why does Cost of Employee Turnover matter?

Turnover is usually the largest invisible cost in a labor-heavy business, so putting a dollar figure on it justifies retention spending.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 4 inputs: Average annual salary, Replacement cost as share of salary, Annual turnover rate, Total headcount. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

Related Calculators

Cost of Employee Turnover – Calculate Cost per Exit