Practical use cases
- Planning likely departures and replacement hiring from a target or historical retention rate.
- Translating a retention rate into headcount terms for a workforce plan.
- Stress-testing a plan under more or less optimistic retention assumptions.
Calculator
Works entirely in your browser — nothing is sent, saved or tracked. Results update as you type.
How it works
The formula is:
Expected to stay = headcount × (expected retention rate ÷ 100); Expected departures = headcount − expected to stay
The retention rate is your own assumption, ideally based on your history. This projects forward — it does not measure a rate you have already achieved (use the retention rate calculator for that).
Worked example: With a headcount of 120 and an expected retention rate of 88%, about 120 × 0.88 ≈ 106 are expected to stay, leaving roughly 14 departures to plan for.
For the full background — what it measures, why it matters and how to read it — see the employee retention rate guide.
How to read the result
The projection turns a retention rate into headcount terms so you can plan replacement hiring. It is only as good as the rate you assume, so test a range rather than a single figure.
Use it for planning, not as a measured result. To track what actually happened, measure retention after the period with the retention rate calculator.
Common mistakes
- Treating the projection as a measured outcome rather than a planning estimate.
- Using an optimistic retention rate with no basis in your history.
- Applying one organisation-wide rate when retention varies sharply by team or tenure.
- Planning only for the central case and ignoring a worse one.
Free, printable planning resources
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