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Employee Retention Rate Calculator

Work out how many of the people you started the year with are still here, and what keeping more of them is worth.

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How is employee retention rate calculated?

Divide the number of your original employees still present today by your headcount 12 months ago, then multiply by 100. People who joined during those 12 months are excluded, because retention is about holding on to the staff you already had, not net headcount movement. Use a full 12 months so the result is comparable year to year.

Where Compono fits

A retention rate tells you how many stayed. It does not tell you who is at risk next, or what would make them stay. Compono Engage reads the behavioural and culture-fit signals that show up long before someone resigns, so retention becomes something you build into the year rather than something you tally at the end of it. Compono has grown 20% year on year (against a 9.8% industry average) and is used by government departments and mid-market across ANZ.

See how it works

How it's calculated

Retention rate is the number of your original staff still present today, divided by your headcount 12 months ago, multiplied by 100. This tool uses a rolling 12 months so the figure is comparable year to year and against annual turnover benchmarks. New hires who joined during those 12 months are deliberately left out, so the figure reflects how well you held on to the people you already had. The ROI variant compares the cost of a retention program against the turnover cost it helps you avoid.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of employee retention rate in the HR Glossary.

Common questions

What is the difference between retention rate and turnover rate?

Retention rate measures how many of your starting staff stayed. Turnover rate measures how many people left across the whole 12 months, including newer hires. They are related but not opposites, and a business can have a healthy retention rate while still carrying high turnover among recent joiners.

What is a good employee retention rate?

It varies a lot by industry. Hospitality and retail run lower by nature, professional services tend to run higher. Rather than chasing a universal benchmark, compare your rate against your own previous 12-month figures and against peers of a similar size and sector.

How can we improve retention?

Start with the things research consistently links to staying. People stay about 41% longer at companies that hire internally (LinkedIn, 2020). Beyond that, the biggest gains come from spotting who is drifting early and acting on the specific reasons, rather than running a one-size offer at everyone.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the relevant authority in your country or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.