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What Is Employee Turnover?

Employee turnover is the movement of people out of an organisation over a period — the rate at which employees leave and need replacing.

An educational definition from the HR glossary. Explore related terms below, or jump into the resource center to go deeper.

Definition

Employee turnover is the movement of people out of an organisation over a period — the rate at which employees leave and need replacing.

Why it matters

It affects continuity, knowledge retention and hiring load, so tracking it helps separate normal movement from a developing problem.

Examples

Illustrative example. Over a quarter, a team that loses [n] of an average [m] people has a turnover rate of (n ÷ m) × 100%.

For the practical detail behind this term, follow the related metric, template and resources below.

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For informational purposes only. This is an educational, plain-language definition — not legal, tax, financial or compliance advice and not an official definition. Terms and obligations vary by organisation and jurisdiction. Numeric examples are simple, placeholder-based illustrations, not data. Confirm specifics with qualified professionals.
Related concepts

Related glossary terms

Keep exploring the HR vocabulary.

Glossary

Employee Retention

Employee retention is how well an organisation keeps the people it wants to keep over time.

Open Glossary

Employee Attrition

Attrition is the reduction of the workforce through departures, often emphasising roles that are not backfilled.

Open Glossary

Turnover Rate

Turnover rate expresses separations during a period as a percentage of average headcount for that period.

Open Glossary

New-Hire Retention

New-hire retention measures how many recent hires are still employed after an early-tenure window.

Open
Measure it

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HR metric

Employee Turnover Rate

Employee turnover rate measures how many people left over a period relative to the average number employed.

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Go deeper

Related resources

The clusters that put this concept into practice.

Lifecycle

Employee lifecycle

The full employee journey, stage by stage.

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Recruitment funnel

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is Employee Turnover?

Employee turnover is the movement of people out of an organisation over a period — the rate at which employees leave and need replacing.

Why does Employee Turnover matter?

It affects continuity, knowledge retention and hiring load, so tracking it helps separate normal movement from a developing problem.

How is Employee Turnover measured?

It connects to the HR metric linked on this page, where you can find the formula and how to read it. This glossary entry is an educational definition, not a data source.