Employee turnover

In human resources, turnover refers to the employees who leave an organization. The turnover rate is the percentage of the total workforce that leave over a given period. Organizations and industries typically measure turnover for a fiscal or calendar year.

Reasons for leaving include termination (that is, involuntary turnover), retirement, death, transfers to other sections of the organization, and resignations. External factors—such as financial pressures, work-family balance, or economic crises—may also contribute.

Turnover rates may vary over time and across industries. If an employer has a higher turnover rate than its competitors, employees there generally have shorter average tenure than those in other companies within the same industry.

High turnover can be particularly harmful to a company's productivity when skilled workers are hard to retain or replace. Companies may track turnover internally by department, division, or demographic group—for example, comparing turnover among women and men. Such comparisons can help reveal implicit bias in practices or identify whether disproportionate departures of one gender are affecting the leadership pipeline.

Organizations often survey departing employees to understand the reasons for voluntary turnover, and many find that promptly addressing identified issues significantly reduces departures. Common retention measures include benefits such as paid sick days, paid holidays, and flexible schedules.