HR Metric Guide
Turnover rate is the share of employees who leave over a period, measured against average headcount. It is simple to calculate and easy to misread. This guide covers the formula, a worked example, and how to turn a number into a decision.
HR Metric
Turnover Rate
All exits (voluntary and involuntary unless configured otherwise) divided by average headcount.
Exits During Period / Average Headcount × 100 · Average Headcount = (Beginning HC + Ending HC) / 2
Required data: employee_id, termination_date, employment_status
View metric definition →The denominator is average headcount, not start or end headcount — otherwise a growing or shrinking team distorts the rate. Average headcount is usually (beginning headcount + ending headcount) / 2, or a monthly average for more precision.
Example
A team starts the quarter with 120 employees and ends with 128. Average headcount is 124. Six people left during the quarter. Turnover rate = 6 / 124 × 100 = 4.8% for the quarter, which annualises to roughly 19% depending on the method.
Always split it:
HR Metric
Voluntary Turnover Rate
Exits classified as voluntary (or per organization configuration) divided by average headcount.
Voluntary Exits / Average Headcount × 100
Required data: employee_id, termination_date, termination_type
View metric definition →Of the voluntary leavers, which ones did you want to keep? Regretted turnover in critical or revenue-generating roles is the number that should reach your leadership team, not the blended rate.
The rate tells you *something* changed. The segments tell you *what*, and that is where the decision is.
Note
"Average turnover is X%" figures are almost always unsourced or drawn from a population unlike yours. Set your target from your own last four to eight quarters. If you cite an external benchmark, record its source, year, industry and geography.
Report it separately. Planned contract ends are not attrition in the same sense as a permanent employee resigning.
Track monthly for operations, annualise for planning and board reporting. Be explicit about which you are showing.
The one that is stable or improving against your own baseline, with low regretted turnover in the roles that matter.
HRlytix calculates turnover — total, voluntary, involuntary and by segment — from your employee file.
Try HRlytix freeRelated: What is HR analytics and The HR KPIs that drive decisions.
This article covers a metric that HRlytix calculates automatically.
View the metric definition →How to calculate retention rate, why it is not just "100 minus turnover", how to read a retention curve, and the mistakes that make the number misleading.
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HRlytix calculates every metric in these guides from your own Excel or CSV data — no formulas required.
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