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Free tools for HR leaders

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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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 original staff still present at the end of the period, divided by your headcount at the start, multiplied by 100. New hires who joined during the period 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.

Common questions

How is employee retention rate calculated?

Divide the number of original employees still present at the end of the period by your headcount at the start, then multiply by 100. People who joined during the period are excluded, because retention is about holding on to the staff you already had, not net headcount movement.

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 period, 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 periods 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.

Figures are estimates using published benchmarks. Sources shown above; rates reviewed annually.