Free tool
Employee turnover rate calculator
Headcount and leavers in, your turnover rate out, with the average it was measured against shown in full. No benchmark data, because we do not have any and will not invent it.
Headcount is sensitive. The link carries your figures in the address itself, so think before you paste it anywhere shared.
The working
| Measure | Value | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| The working appears here once your figures are in. | ||
How the rate is worked out
Every step, in the open, so you can rebuild it in a handful of spreadsheet cells and disagree with it if you want to. A calculator you cannot check is an ad.
The average headcount, and why it is the denominator
Average headcount is the headcount at the start of the period plus the headcount at the end, divided by two. It is the denominator because turnover is a rate against the team that was there to leave, and that team changed size while the period ran. Dividing by the starting figure alone overstates turnover for a team that grew and understates it for one that shrank, so the average is the fairer figure and the one used here. If you track a monthly average instead, it will be more accurate still on a team that moved sharply mid-period, and you can enter that as the start and end of a shorter window.
The rate for the period, and the annualised rate
The period rate is leavers divided by average headcount, as a percentage. The annualised rate multiplies that by twelve divided by the number of months in the period, which scales a partial year up to a full one. That scaling is linear and assumes the rest of the year resembles the slice you measured, so it is least reliable over short windows and around seasonal patterns, a bonus cycle or a one-off restructuring. Over a full twelve months the two rates are the same number.
The voluntary and involuntary split
If you enter a voluntary count, the tool treats every other leaver as involuntary and works out a rate for each against the same average headcount, so the two add back up to the total. The split is worth keeping because the two halves point at different things: voluntary leaving tends to be about pay, management or the room to grow, and involuntary leaving tends to be about who was hired and how performance was managed. Where you draw the line, and whether a fixed-term end counts as either, is your definition and the tool follows your numbers.
What this tool does not know
What your turnover should be. It holds no benchmark, no industry median and no "healthy" rate for any country or stage, and it will not be adding any, because a free page quoting invented people data would be worse than no page. Track your rate against your own history and set your own line.
It also does not know why anyone left, which is the part that actually matters. A rate is a smoke alarm, not a diagnosis. For what to measure alongside it, see the guide to HR metrics for small teams, and for keeping a spread-out team from becoming a turnover problem, the guide to managing a distributed team. Replacing the people who leave has a cost of its own, which the cost per hire calculator works out.
Questions with complete answers
How is the turnover rate worked out?
Leavers during the period, divided by the average headcount across the period, shown as a percentage. Average headcount is the headcount at the start plus the headcount at the end, divided by two, which is the standard way to smooth a team that grew or shrank while the period ran. Dividing by the start figure alone overstates turnover for a growing team and understates it for a shrinking one, so the average is the fairer denominator and it is the one used here.
What is the annualised rate, and when should I not trust it?
It scales the period rate up to a full year by multiplying it by twelve divided by the number of months in the period. A three-month period showing 5 percent annualises to 20 percent. It is a linear approximation and it assumes the rest of the year looks like the slice you measured, so it is unreliable over very short periods and around seasonal leaving patterns, a post-bonus wave or a single restructuring. Read it as an indication, not a forecast, and prefer a full twelve-month window when you have one.
What counts as a leaver?
Anyone who left the group you are measuring during the period, whichever way they left. If you enter a voluntary count as well, the tool treats the rest as involuntary and shows both rates, which is worth doing because the two point at very different problems: voluntary leaving is usually about pay, management or growth, and involuntary leaving is usually about hiring or performance management. Where you draw the line between the two, and whether an end-of-contract counts, is your call, and the tool follows the numbers you give it.
What is a good turnover rate?
This tool will not tell you, and any free page that puts a number on it is guessing. What counts as high or low depends on your industry, your country, your stage and how you hire, and there is no benchmark data in this tool at all. It gives you your own rate, worked out in the open, so you can track it against your own history and set your own line. Compare it to where you were last quarter before you compare it to anyone else.
Is anything I type saved or sent anywhere?
No. It computes in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere. There is no email wall, no account and no storage. The link button puts your figures in the address itself if you want to send them to someone, and the page says so before you use it, but headcount is sensitive so think before you paste that link somewhere public.
A rate is a number. The people behind it live in a roster, not a spreadsheet.