While employee turnover has some advantages, it can also be quite alarming. Delivering a turnover rate over the industry average is usually considered a red flag. Alongside the loss of productivity, an endless cycle of advertising for job openings, recruiting, and training are also draining for the management team. And that’s not counting the damage to employee morale.
That’s why we prepared a list of essential employee turnover statistics that demonstrate the common problems staff face in work environments and demands that are not usually met by management.
Top Employee Turnover Statistics: Editor’s Choice
- 31% of employees leave their jobs within the first six months.
- Only 15% of American employees would not leave their current job for any reason.
- Over 77% of voluntary turnover is preventable.
- Employees working with poorly rated managers are four times more likely to change jobs.
- Only 12% of employees state that their organization does a great job of onboarding.
- Strong management and transparency result in a 30% better retention rate.
- 36% of American employees are engaged in their work.
- 80% of turnovers are due to bad hiring decisions.
General Employee Turnover Stats
1. At 60.5%, the retail and wholesale industry has the highest turnover rate.
Factors such as unbalanced paychecks, lack of career development, and poor management are among the top reasons why retail and wholesale employees leave their jobs.
Minimal to no training is also a significant contributing factor for the routinely high churn rate in these sectors, according to employee turnover statistics by industry. In a straight customer-facing job as retail, minimally trained employees can damage customer experience alongside the problems employees face day in day out.
2. Governmental positions have the lowest average turnover rate by industry, at 1.5%.
This sector is followed by the finance and education industries. The specific skill set needed for such positions and the long training process are among the underlying reasons for higher retention rates and lower industry turnover.
3. Employee turnover statistics for the UK rank publishing and events as the sectors with the highest job turnover rate.
The project-based nature of work in these sectors might be causing high industry turnover rates. Employees contribute their part until the project ends, build up their portfolio, and move on to a different project, often in a different company.
4. The average cost of turnover per employee in the UK is £30,614.
This number is based on an employee earning £25,000 per year. Employee turnover costs statistics include expenses related to hiring, from advertising the job to interviewing, onboarding, and training processes. Additionally, the new employee needs some time (28 weeks on average) to get used to the new job and be as productive as the employee they are replacing.
5. 31% of employees leave their jobs within the first six months in the US.
Then, 68% of employees that resigned did so within the first three months of their employment. Employee turnover stats indicate the importance of the first three months at an organization —the probationary period works both ways.
6. Women stay in one job for 4 years on average, compared to 4.3 years for men.
While women are historically over-represented in less secure industries such as leisure and hospitality, average employee turnover rates by gender do not appear to differ widely, with men having only a slight edge.
Causes of Employee Turnover
7. Only 15% of American employees would not leave their current job for any reason.
Turnover statistics indicate that most people in the workforce are likely to change jobs if they receive the right offer. Employee turnover reasons include better wages, benefits, etc.
8. Over 77% of voluntary turnover is preventable.
Voluntary turnover rates, not including retirement, are often due to push and pull factors. Pull factors include a better job opportunity or desire to take some time off. Push factors meanwhile are related to problems in management, career development, compensation, and benefits, as well as work-life balance. While employers have limited control over the pull factors, they can generally prevent push factors.
9. Employee turnover statistics rank the lack of career growth opportunities as the number one reason employees quit.
Other reasons include pay and benefits, lack of cultural fit, and poor management. It is worth noting that while the lack of career opportunities surpasses wages, other problems relating to the work environment follow close.
10. 80% of turnover is due to bad hiring decisions.
While working with HR specialists can be costly, there’s a high chance a decent hiring plan would prevent dysfunctional turnover in an organization, as proven by employment turnover statistics. Poor hiring decisions might include multiple factors, from mis-assessment of the candidate’s ability to misrepresentation of the job.
11. Employees working with poorly rated managers are four times more likely to change jobs.
Job turnover rates are likely to skyrocket under poor management. This can include not communicating expectations clearly, micro-managing, lack of feedback, etc. Good management meanwhile improves the retention rate; employees who receive clear communication of responsibilities are 23% more likely to stay.
12. 44% of women would consider leaving their current job for a more flexible work environment.
This rate is 39% among men. Employee attrition statistics also show that men are more likely to change jobs for a higher-level position than women – 40% and 30%, respectively. It indicates that employee experience differs among genders.
13. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, 17% of mothers are thinking of reducing their work hours, while 16% are thinking about switching to a less demanding job.
For fathers, these rates are 9% and 11%, respectively. Unsurprisingly, the demand for parenthood in these testing times falls more on women than on men, and it affects their experience in the workforce significantly, as employee turnover statistics for the US show.
14. Senior-level women are 1.5 times more likely to think of downshifting or leaving the workforce altogether because of COVID-19 than senior-level men.
Among these, almost 3 in every 4 cite burnout or the opportunity to take on fewer responsibilities as their main reasons to quit. Men have been more likely to fill senior-level positions than women for a long time, and while slow but steady progress has been made to change this, the COVID-19 disruption can jeopardize the efforts made in the last few decades.
15. 35% of Black employees intend to quit within two years.
In comparison, the average employee turnover rate in the first two years for white professionals is 27%. Employee turnover statistics show that Black professionals are more likely to quit than their white counterparts, with marginally higher rates for Black women (36%) than Black men (33%). The overarching reason they leave is the microaggression they encounter in the work environment.
Stats to Help Lower Employee Turnover Rates
16. Turnover stats indicate that 73% of employees would have stayed at their company had there been more skill-building opportunities.
Employees like to think their employers would invest in them and leave room for improvement. Employee retention statistics confirm that investing in employee improvement programs is a win-win scenario for both parties. It increases employee engagement, a sense of recognition, and ultimately retention and productivity.
17. Strong management and transparency result in a 30% better retention rate.
Job attrition statistics suggest that focusing on employee’s strengths, honest communication, and building mutual trust make employees feel valued for themselves and their work, and result in lower employee turnover rates.
18. Only 20% of employees think that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them for excellence in their work.
Surveys show that a substantial proportion of employees don’t think they’ve managed to encourage them to do outstanding work. Given the importance put on exceptional work in today’s job market, it is natural that employees expect their management to reinforce it.
19. Internal hiring increases retention rate by 81%, employment turnover statistics show.
Internal hiring means companies hire existing staff for open roles. Employees stay 41% longer at companies with high internal recruitment compared to those with low internal recruitment. Besides providing a chance for career development, internal hiring also prevents the possibility of a lack of cultural fit in new recruitments.
20. 76% of the new employees want on-the-job training.
Employee turnover statistics show a high churn rate among newcomers, yet, this can be prevented with the right training. A good orientation program can ease getting used to a new work environment and minimize potential mistakes.
21. Only 12% of employees think that their organization does a great job of onboarding.
Unfortunately, not many organizations take the importance of onboarding into account. A flawed onboarding process is likely to cause disengagement in new employees as well as alienation, and eventually result in a failure in meeting the expectations or resignations.
22. Turnover statistics suggest that organizations supporting flexible and remote working conditions have 25% lower turnover rates.
Although differing by industry, many organizations can offer flexible and remote working options and maintain similar productivity levels as with traditional working conditions. Working amid COVID-19 complications clearly demonstrated the likelihood of such a scenario. Allowing such flexibility might help lower the average employee turnover rate within an organization.
23. 66% of highly engaged employees stated that they had no plans to switch jobs, while only 3% of them were actively looking.
Alongside productivity, employee engagement also drastically improves an organization’s employee attrition statistics. Highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their companies than their disengaged counterparts.
24. Gallup estimates that 36% of American employees are engaged in their work.
While 13% are actively disengaged, having miserable work experience and spreading unhappiness to colleagues, 51% of American employees remain non-engaged, meaning they are psychologically detached from their work and workplace.
25. Morrison Management Specialists reduced turnover by 1% for every 2% gained in employee engagement.
This particular sample case demonstrates the direct correlation between employee engagement and job attrition statistics. Creating a friendly environment where employees are managed to encourage their best self results in loyalty.
26. Employees who do not feel supported in their professional goals are three times more likely to quit.
Supporting an employee’s professional goals can come in many forms, connecting them to the larger team’s objectives, assisting in planning once the goals are set, and monitoring their progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is employee turnover calculated?
Employee turnover rate is the measurement of the number of employees that leave an organization in a specific time frame, usually a year. To calculate the rate, divide the total number of employees that left within a specific time frame by the average number of employees working within the same time frame. The total number of employees should not include temporary workers or interns. Then multiply that number by 100 and you will get the employee turnover statistics for your organization.
What is a good employee turnover rate?
While almost every organization aims for lower labor turnover rates, there isn’t a benchmark for it. It is rarely zero as natural or functional turnovers occur, such as retirement or discharge due to abysmal performance.
Turnover rates also heavily depend on the sector, as suggested by employee turnover by industry statistics. Some sectors are inherently less secure or project-based and have high turnover jobs. Other industries require an elaborate skillset and naturally a long training process, making the retention rate higher. The best way to set a goal is to look at the turnover rate by industry.
Does Google have a high turnover rate?
Google Inc. does not publicly disclose its turnover rate, but according to employee turnover stats for the tech giant in a Business Insider report, employees spend an average of 1.90 years at the company. This amount indicates a very high turnover rate.
If Silicon Valley were a kingdom, Google could have been the royal family. Employees who work in the firm are proven experts in their field, and they are likely to split to pursue entrepreneurship or for a higher position in a lower ranked company.
How long does the average employee stay at Amazon?
According to employee turnover data in a Business Insider report, an average employee stays around 1.84 years at Amazon. It has also been reported that when the ecommerce giant opens a fulfillment center in a county in the US, the turnover rate for that county goes through the roof. In 2017, the average turnover rate for warehouse workers in counties with fulfillment centers was 100.9%, as confirmed by employment turnover statistics.
The firm is continuously criticized for its unsustainably high productivity expectations. Despite attractive benefits, there is a growing body of evidence on reports of absolute exhaustion and injuries on the part of the workers in fulfillment centers.
Is employee turnover and attrition the same?
Both turnover and attrition mean a reduction in staff. Attrition refers to voluntary or natural cases, like resignation or retirement. Employee turnover, meanwhile, includes both voluntary and involuntary departures. Employees whose jobs are terminated in an organization by their employers or who are discharged would be included within the turnover stats. While employees are replaced in the case of a turnover, positions may remain empty after attrition.
What are the effects of employee turnover?
Turnovers can be grouped as functional and dysfunctional by their effects. Functional turnover includes termination of low-performance or actively disengaged employees, which eventually improves the overall performance. Turnover statistics meanwhile show that dysfunctional turnovers are usually caused by problems related to some aspect of the organization.
The aftermath of dysfunctional turnover can be difficult to recover from, the degree of which depends on the seniority level and productivity of the employee departed. Alongside the loss of knowledge and expertise and consequent downfall of productivity, such a departure also affects the remaining team. It can demotivate, cause a loss of morale and trust in the team’s competence and performance.
Conclusion
What these employee turnover statistics show is that employee engagement is key for retaining quality staff. Employees require room for development, clear communication, strong management, and recognition of their work. Bettering employee experience can do wonders, while the opposite is both exhausting and costly for organizations.
Sources
Bamboo HR,Bright HR,Bureau of Labor Statistics,Catalyst,E-Days,Engage 2 Excel,Forbes,Gallup,Globe News Wire,HubSpot,HuffPost,Kevin Kruse,LinkedIn,Manila Recruitment,McKinsey & Company,SHRM
