Attrition Rate Calculator
Attrition, retention and first-year turnover from your headcount and exits.
Who left
- Voluntary
- Involuntary
- Other
Breakdown
How this was calculated
About the Attrition Rate Calculator
Work out attrition — the share of your workforce that left — for a month, a quarter, a year or the year to date: separations ÷ average headcount × 100. Split it into voluntary, involuntary and other exits and see the regretted attrition, the annualised rate for a part year, the retention rate of the people you started with and first-year attrition among new hires.
Or enter your figures month by month — the headcount at the end of each month, the exits and the hires — to get every month’s rate, the quarters, the year to date and the annualised figure in one table. The figures stay on your device.
How to use it
- Choose One period or Month by month.
- For one period, choose its length and enter the headcount at the start and the end, and the exits by type. Add regretted exits and new hires if you track them.
- For month by month, choose the first month, enter the headcount at its start, then each month’s end headcount, exits and hires — or paste the rows from a spreadsheet.
- Open First-year attrition to enter a group of hires and how many left within a year.
- Read the rates and notes; copy the summary or download a CSV.
Examples
Attrition 7.72% (19 ÷ 246) · voluntary 5.69% · involuntary 1.63% Annualised 30.89% · retention 93.33% ((240 − 16) ÷ 240)
Attrition 14.29% (15 ÷ 105)
Quarter 5.92% (12 ÷ 202.83) · annualised 23.66%
First-year attrition 22.5%
The attrition formula
Attrition % = separations in the period ÷ average headcount × 100, where the average headcount is the headcount at the start plus the headcount at the end, divided by two. Separations are everyone who left the payroll — resignations, dismissals, layoffs, retirements, deaths and transfers out. Use the same headcount definition throughout: employees on the payroll, or full-time equivalents.
For longer periods a better average is the average of the monthly averages — that is what Month by month does: each month’s average is its start plus its end over two, and a quarter or the year divides all its separations by the average of its months. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics computes its monthly separations rate the same way (separations ÷ employment × 100) and averages a year by dividing the year’s separations by the sum of the twelve monthly employment levels.
Voluntary, involuntary and regretted exits
- Voluntary: the employee chose to leave — resignations. The US JOLTS survey calls these quits.
- Involuntary: the employer ended the job — dismissals, layoffs, contracts not renewed (layoffs and discharges).
- Other: retirements, deaths, disability and transfers to another location (other separations).
- Regretted: leavers you would have kept — usually a part of the voluntary exits. Regretted attrition is the figure most teams watch.
Each rate uses the same average headcount, so voluntary + involuntary + other = total attrition.
Annualising a part year
A quarter’s or a year-to-date rate is scaled to a year with × 12 ÷ months: 7.72% in a quarter is 30.89% a year if the pace continues, and 5% after five months is 12% a year. It is a projection: exits bunch after bonuses, appraisals and the start of the hiring season, so a single quarter can over- or understate the year. The average monthly rate (÷ months) gives a figure you can compare across periods of different lengths.
Retention and first-year attrition
Retention looks only at the people you started with: (headcount at the start − those of them who left) ÷ headcount at the start × 100. New hires who join and leave within the period are separations but not losses of starting staff, so enter them for an exact figure; without them the calculator assumes none of the new hires left. Retention is not simply 100% minus attrition, because attrition counts every leaver against the average headcount.
First-year attrition follows a group of hires — everyone who joined in a quarter or a year — and counts how many left within 12 months of joining. A high figure points to hiring or onboarding problems rather than to the workforce as a whole.
Limitations
- Headcounts are taken as entered; employees who join and leave on the same day, interns and contractors are counted only if you include them.
- Annualised rates assume the pace of the period continues.
- Month by month covers up to 12 consecutive months.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What is the formula for attrition rate?
Separations in the period ÷ average headcount × 100. With 19 exits in a quarter and a headcount of 240 at the start and 252 at the end, the average is 246 and the attrition is 19 ÷ 246 × 100 = 7.72% for the quarter.
How do I calculate annual attrition from monthly data?
Add up the year’s separations and divide by the average headcount for the year — best the average of the twelve monthly averages — then multiply by 100. Month by month does this and also gives each quarter.
How do I annualise year-to-date attrition?
Multiply the year-to-date rate by 12 and divide by the months so far: 6% after four months is 6 × 12 ÷ 4 = 18% a year, if the pace continues.
What is the difference between attrition and retention?
Attrition counts everyone who left, against the average headcount. Retention counts how many of the people you had at the start are still there at the end, against the starting headcount. New hires who left count in attrition but not against retention.
Should involuntary exits be counted in attrition?
Yes, total attrition includes every separation. Report voluntary attrition separately — it is the part you can influence most — and regretted attrition for the leavers you wanted to keep.