Why the Employee Turnover Metric Matters

Tracking and measuring employee departures is one of the most meaningful metrics in a company. While exit interviews tell you a written story, the turnover or employee separation metric gives you data in terms of percentages and allows you to look closely at specific departments, roles, or overall company effectiveness with respect to talent.

How do you find your employee turnover number?

Divide the number of departures in a given period (month, quarter, year) by the average number of employees. This can also be reflected by voluntary separations (retirements, resignations) and involuntary separations (layoffs/downsizing, involuntary terminations).

Once you have your number, compare it to your industry and/or geographic area to see how you compare. Revisit your number at least annually to see if you have made improvements.

In combination with the information from the Exit Interview, this metric will allow you to look more closely at:

• culture and employee satisfaction

• hiring and training needs or disconnects

• performance and/or productivity standards (are there unreasonable, for example)

• difficult or ineffective supervisors or managers

• pay concerns or lack of opportunities for growth

The first step is getting started. Next, share the information at your next management meeting and take a deep dive into what the data tells you. Are there improvements you can make? How will you get there? Be forward thinking and measure the improvement as well.

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