What is staff turnover?
Staff turnover is the extent to which employees leave an organisation and are replaced, measured over a given period, usually a year.
We distinguish between desired turnover (for example in case of insufficient performance) and undesired turnover: the departure of valuable employees whom you would have wanted to keep. That undesired turnover in particular is a risk signal. In addition we speak of voluntary versus involuntary turnover, and of turnover within the first year, a strong indicator of problems in recruitment or onboarding.
Calculating staff turnover
You calculate the turnover rate as follows:
Turnover% = ( number of employees who left ÷ average number of employees ) × 100
The figure is the symptom, not the diagnosis
A turnover rate tells you that people leave, not why. You can only answer that why question, engagement, leadership, workload, growth opportunities, with an objective measurement. Exactly what the VitOScan zooms in on.
What does staff turnover cost?
Replacing one employee quickly costs a multiple of the monthly wage. The cost accumulates across several items:
In addition there is the less visible effect on the remaining team: higher workload, declining engagement and the risk of further departures or absence. For key positions or hard-to-fill profiles the total cost rises even higher, especially in today's tight labour market.
The causes of turnover
People rarely leave for one reason. The main influenceable causes are:
- Leadership, the proverbial truth that people don't leave a company but a manager is right more often than not.
- Lack of growth and prospects, absent development and career opportunities.
- Workload and imbalance, prolonged overload, also visible in presenteeism.
- Lack of recognition and engagement, employees who don't feel seen.
- Onboarding, a weak start explains much first-year turnover.
The link with vitality, absence and presenteeism
Turnover, absence and presenteeism are three expressions of the same underlying employer vitality. An organisation with low engagement and high workload usually sees all three rise at the same time. Anyone who wants to sustainably reduce turnover therefore doesn't look at turnover alone, but at the bigger picture of vitality and sustainable employability.
Improving retention: from measuring to retaining
Retaining talent starts with understanding why it leaves:
- Measure objectively. Map engagement, work experience and reasons for leaving independently.
- Benchmark. Compare your turnover with sector peers to put its severity in context.
- Prioritise. Work on the causes with the greatest impact on retention.
- Strengthen leadership and growth. The two strongest levers for retention.
- Monitor. Follow up on whether your retention policy has an effect.
OperaSana measures, you retain
OperaSana provides the independent measurement layer around engagement, work experience and vitality, the basis for a targeted retention policy. Also read up on our Masterclass Sustainable employability & talent retention or start with the VitOScan.