Turnover reference points
FormulaSeparations ÷ average headcount × 100
Australian averageAbout 16% a year (AHRI)
Cost per departureCommonly estimated around 1.5 × salary
The cut that mattersRegretted vs non-regretted, by team and tenure band
How do you calculate employee turnover?
Separations during the period, divided by average headcount for the period, multiplied by 100. Average headcount is typically the start and end headcount divided by two. Run it annually for the headline, monthly or quarterly for the trend, and always cut it by team, tenure band and performance level, because a company-wide number hides everything you actually need to act on.
What is a normal turnover rate in Australia?
Around 16% a year on the AHRI average, with wide industry spread: hospitality and retail run far hotter, government and utilities far cooler. The more useful lens than "are we at the average" is composition: how much is voluntary versus involuntary, and how much is regretted. Fifteen per cent turnover concentrated in your top quartile is a crisis; the same number spread across managed exits is housekeeping.
What does turnover cost?
The commonly used estimate is around 1.5 times salary per departure once recruitment, ramp-up and lost knowledge are counted, which is why a modest-sounding rate compounds into a seven-figure annual cost at even mid-sized headcounts. A meaningful share of it is preventable: most leavers cite reasons an employer could have addressed, which is what makes turnover a management problem rather than weather.
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