Reduce Employee Turnover

The war for talent is back and fiercer than ever. With a shrinking labor force and record numbers of open positions, organizations are feeling the pressure not only to attract talent, but to hold on to it. One of the greatest threats? Losing the people you already have.

Whether you call it employee turnover, voluntary exits, or the Great Resignation, the reality is clear: many employees are open to leaving and too many employers realize it only when it’s too late. In this article, we explore how to assess the risk of employee turnover in your organization, understand the cost of losing talent, and take actionable steps to improve retention.

Employee turnover refers to the rate at which employees leave an organization over a certain period. This includes both voluntary departures, like resignations, and involuntary ones, such as dismissals or layoffs. While turnover is a natural part of business, consistently high employee turnover, especially a rising annual turnover rate can indicate deeper organizational issues. It often reflects problems in employee engagement, career growth opportunities, or work life balance. It disrupts team dynamics, increases hiring and training costs, and drains institutional knowledge. Over time, it can damage employer branding and make it even harder to attract new talent.

Understanding your employee turnover rate, how it compares to your industry, and whether it’s trending upward or downward is essential to developing meaningful retention strategies within your human resources management approach.

Before any real action can be taken, you need to know the scale of the problem. This is where your employee turnover rate becomes essential, a percentage that shows how often employees who leave exit your company during a specific period. You can calculate employee turnover rates by dividing the number of exits by the total number of employees, multiplied by 100.

But not all turnover is created equal. Some roles have higher turnover due to market dynamics, while others signal deeper retention issues. Are employees leaving after years of contribution or within their first months? Are they top performers or temporary hires? Are we talking about voluntary employee turnover — or are these exits involuntary turnover, such as layoffs or terminations? Differentiating these helps organizations better understand the overall turnover rate and what actions are within their control.

Instead of relying on one annual figure, dig deeper by asking:

• Where are high turnover rates most common?
• What roles, departments, or office locations are affected?
• Are specific demographics or tenure groups at higher risk?
• How does the current rate compare to previous periods or industry benchmarks?

These questions help HR teams uncover what’s behind the numbers and take targeted action before retention issues escalate.

Not every departure can (or should) be prevented, but spotting patterns is key. Employees with short tenure, low engagement, or poor performance may naturally be more inclined to leave. Others, however, show warning signs that go unnoticed: decreased job satisfaction, frequent absences, or a sudden drop in team involvement — all of which contribute to a poor employee experience and increase the likelihood that people leave. Rather than speculate, modern tools can highlight risk profiles and even show employees who fall into vulnerable categories based on multiple data points. Behavioral trends, feedback loops, and even patterns in promotion histories help organizations spot flight risk early and respond accordingly.

Understanding employee turnover isn’t just about tracking who left — it’s about uncovering why they left and what could have been done differently. But that’s easier said than done.

There are three main challenges most organizations face:

1. Data availability: Many lack centralized, consistent data across all relevant indicators — such as performance, compensation, or engagement.
2. Compliance and privacy: Especially in Europe and other regions with strict regulations, analyzing sensitive employee data requires careful handling and cooperation with employee representatives.
3. Lack of external context: Internal data tells only half the story. Labor market conditions, salary benchmarks, employee engagement scores, and employer reputation also influence retention, but are often underestimated by the HR Department or overlooked entirely.

To tackle these, companies increasingly turn to analytics tools that combine internal metrics with external data sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics or industry-specific benchmarks.

Identifying patterns is just the first step. Acting on them is where impact is made. Companies aiming to improve retention need to apply clear, measurable employee retention strategies — backed by both people insights and a supportive culture.

It starts with leadership. Managers should be empowered to check in regularly and address concerns early. Conducting exit interviews can also offer critical information to improve retention for others — but don’t wait until it’s too late. Stay conversations and ongoing feedback loops are just as important.

Other proven levers include:

• Reviewing compensation structures and internal equity
• Creating clear growth and development paths
• Strengthening psychological safety and team culture
• Offering flexible work models where feasible

Employees stay when they feel seen, supported, and given room to grow. That’s why organizations aiming to retain top talent need to offer clear paths for career growth and foster a culture where strong contributors are empowered, recognized, and appreciated for their impact. A strong working environment and a clear sense of purpose are key to long-term engagement.

The cost of employee turnover isn’t just financial — though that part is significant. Replacing an employee can cost up to twice their annual salary once you factor in recruitment, onboarding, training, and lost productivity — especially when it’s a top performer. But the deeper cost lies in the disruption: broken workflows, strained teams, delayed projects, and lost expertise.

High turnover also sends signals to the remaining workforce. When people see their peers walking out the door, they start to question their own path. That’s why tackling turnover is also about maintaining morale, trust, and momentum.

In a world of constant change, organizations that treat employee turnover as just an HR metric are missing the point. Reducing turnover is not about patching holes — it’s about building a culture where people want to stay, grow, and contribute. The most forward-thinking HR and organizational development teams are shifting from reactive processes to strategic workforce planning. They’re using People Analytics, scenario simulations, and organizational modeling to explore the impact of structural changes before they happen.

And they’re not doing it alone. Modern tools like Ingentis org.manager allow companies to visualize workforce structures, model alternative scenarios, and surface insights that drive better decisions — from talent development to succession planning and beyond. Because in the end, retaining talent isn’t just about avoiding risk. It’s about enabling people and organizations to thrive together.