Cost of Turnover Calculator

Understand what employee turnover costs your business, one departure at a time. Enter the salaries of the people involved, along with your time and cost assumptions. The Excel workbook calculates the cost of separation, the open vacancy, recruiting a replacement, and bringing the new hire to full productivity. You get the total per departure, the cost as a percent of salary, and the annual cost based on your turnover volume.

A working model with the structure in place

Enter the salaries for the departing employee, the manager, a coworker, and HR, then set your working days. The workbook takes you through four stages: separation, the open vacancy, recruiting, and onboarding. It calculates the cost of each person's time using their pay, adds the output lost during the vacancy and the new hire's ramp, and shows the total per departure, the share from each stage, the percent of salary, and the annual cost at your turnover volume. The one-page Summary brings the four stage subtotals and the total together for a budget conversation. The Benchmark tab includes turnover-cost ranges by role type from Gallup, SHRM, and public research. A worked example shows how the calculation comes together before you enter your own figures.

Where turnover costs add up

Direct expenses, such as job ads and agency fees, are the smaller part of turnover costs. The larger cost is the output lost while a position is vacant and while a replacement reaches full productivity. The workbook values each person's time using their own salary, giving separation, recruiting, and onboarding hours a dollar amount. Coverage loss during the vacancy and reduced output during the new hire's ramp are usually the two largest components and are often overlooked. That makes your coverage and ramp percentages particularly important to the result. The workbook then multiplies the cost per departure by the expected exits for that role to show the full annual cost of a high-turnover position.

Built for

• HR and finance partners comparing turnover costs with the cost of employee retention.
• Managers evaluating counteroffers, retention programs, or faster backfills using a clear cost estimate.
• HR leaders preparing board-level turnover cost figures for a specific role, per departure and per year.

To calculate the yearly cost of vacant positions based on turnover and time to fill, use the Vacancy Cost Calculator. For the full cost of filling a role using the ANSI/SHRM formula, see the Cost Per Hire Calculator.

Before you buy

What format is it, and can I edit it?

You get one Excel workbook that also works in Google Sheets. The download is five files: the workbook, a Start Here, the one-page Quick Reference, the product license, and a short guide to using it in Google Sheets. Every input and formula is editable. Duplicate the file to calculate turnover costs for another role and see where costs differ rather than relying on one average. Your download link is available immediately after checkout, with the same link emailed on your receipt.

What does the paid workbook do that a free calculator does not?

The workbook calculates turnover costs across four stages, values each person's time using their own salary, and separates output lost during a vacancy from output lost while a replacement reaches full productivity. Set your assumptions once, duplicate the file for each role, and review the formulas behind every result. The free calculator produces one number from three inputs. This workbook keeps your assumptions visible for finance to audit and gives you a reusable file to update each year as pay and turnover change.

What does the cost include?

Four stages, each with its own subtotal. Separation is the time to process the exit, accrued PTO, and any severance. Vacancy is the output lost while the seat is empty. Recruiting is job ads, any agency fee, and the hours HR and the manager spend. Onboarding is training, equipment, and the output lost while the new hire ramps to full speed.

What is the refund policy?

Digital products are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. To request a refund, email support@truestephr.com or reply to your receipt within 30 days of purchase. Questions? Email support@truestephr.com.

These are planning estimates based on the salaries and time assumptions you enter. Coverage and ramp percentages have the greatest effect on the result, so set them to reflect your situation and use your own figures in place of the worked example.

How the download works

Your files arrive as a single ZIP download, best opened on a computer. Save it, extract it (right-click and select Extract All on Windows, or double-click on a Mac), then open the Start Here file first. PDFs open in any reader, and editable files work in Microsoft Excel or free equivalents, including LibreOffice and Google Sheets. No other software is needed. Step-by-step help for every device is at truestephr.com/pages/download-help.

Scope

This planning and analysis model produces estimates based entirely on the inputs and assumptions you enter. Use those estimates to support decisions, rather than as accounting, tax, or legal conclusions. Check the assumptions against your own data. Have qualified counsel review decisions involving pay, headcount, or separation against applicable law before acting. General information, not legal, tax, or financial advice.