Metrics & Analytics

Attrition Rate

Definition

What is Attrition Rate?

The percentage of employees who leave an organization over a set period and are not replaced. It is a key HR metric signaling workforce stability, hiring efficiency, and culture health.

Featured snippet

The percentage of employees leaving over a period without being replaced.

In Practice

How Attrition Rate works?

Attrition rate is calculated by dividing the number of employees who left during a period by the average headcount for that period, then multiplying by 100. Organizations should track voluntary and involuntary attrition separately — blending them obscures the health of the work environment, since involuntary departures reflect organizational decisions while voluntary ones reflect employee satisfaction. The most common measurement mistake is using beginning-of-period headcount as the denominator rather than average headcount, which inflates the rate during periods of rapid growth and deflates it during contractions — making period-to-period comparisons unreliable.

By the numbers

Key Statistics

What the research says about employee engagement.

13-15%

The average annual voluntary attrition rate across industries is 13 to 15 percent; rates above 20 percent signal systemic engagement or management quality issues requiring urgent intervention.

50-150%

Replacing a mid-level employee costs 50 to 150 percent of their annual salary when factoring in sourcing, interviewing, onboarding, and lost productivity during ramp-up.

Organizations that track attrition by manager — not just by department — identify the people management root causes of turnover 3x faster than those using aggregate metrics alone.

How Qureos helps

Qureos platform

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Also known as

Synonyms and Translations

Other ways this term appears across industries and languages.

Synonyms

Employee Attrition

Staff Turnover Rate

Workforce Attrition

Churn Rate

Employee Exit Rate

Translations

🇸🇦

Arabic

معدل التسرب الوظيفي

🇫🇷

French

Taux d'attrition

🇮🇳

Hindi

अपघटन दर

🇵🇰

Urdu

ملازمین چھوڑنے کی شرح

🇵🇭

Tagalog

Rate ng Pag-alis ng Empleyado

People may ask

People May Ask

Common questions about employee engagement.

What is a good attrition rate for a company?

Most organizations aim for annual attrition below 10 to 15 percent. Rates above 20 percent typically indicate culture or retention issues.

What is the difference between attrition and turnover?

Turnover counts all departures including replacements. Attrition refers specifically to roles left vacant and not refilled.

How do you calculate attrition rate?

Divide the number of employees who left during a period by the average headcount, then multiply by 100.

What causes high employee attrition?

Poor management, below-market pay, lack of growth opportunities, toxic culture, burnout, and mismatch between job expectations and reality.

How can companies reduce attrition rate?

Focus on manager quality, career development, competitive pay, recognition, and regular feedback to address engagement issues before they trigger resignations.