Calculator/About
About RetentionCost.com
What This Site Is
RetentionCost.com is an independent educational resource for understanding employee turnover costs. It provides a free calculator, industry benchmarks, role-specific cost breakdowns, and evidence-based retention strategies. The site exists to help HR leaders, CFOs, and department heads build the business case for retention investment using real data.
This site is not affiliated with any HR software vendor, consulting firm, or recruitment agency. It does not sell software, require email registration, or gate any content behind paywalls. All data is freely accessible.
Calculator Methodology
The retention cost calculator uses replacement cost multipliers derived from SHRM benchmarking data, adjusted by role type. The methodology follows the SHRM Turnover Cost Calculation framework, which accounts for 8 cost categories: recruitment, interview and selection, onboarding, vacancy, ramp-up, knowledge transfer loss, team disruption, and administrative costs.
Role multipliers range from 0.5x salary (entry-level, high-turnover roles) to 2.5x salary (executive and senior specialist roles). These are mid-range estimates from published research. Actual costs will vary based on your specific hiring market, internal processes, and role complexity.
Time-to-fill and time-to-productivity estimates are based on SHRM average hiring timelines and Brandon Hall Group onboarding research, segmented by role type.
5-year projections assume a 3% annual salary growth rate applied to the base turnover cost, compounded. This is a conservative estimate based on historical US wage growth data from BLS.
Data Sources
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Human Capital Benchmarking Report, Employee Benefits Survey, Turnover Cost Calculation Methodology. SHRM is the largest HR professional society globally, with over 300,000 members. Their benchmarking data is the industry standard for turnover cost estimation.
Gallup
State of the Global Workplace Report, Q12 Employee Engagement Meta-Analysis, Manager Quality Research. Gallup's $1 trillion annual turnover cost figure is the most-cited statistic in retention research. Their engagement data covers millions of employees across thousands of organisations.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), Current Employment Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. BLS is the authoritative source for US labour market data. JOLTS provides monthly quit, hire, and separation rates by industry.
Work Institute
Annual Retention Report. The Work Institute conducts exit interview analysis across hundreds of organisations. Their data on preventable vs non-preventable departures and top departure reasons is widely cited in HR research.
Center for American Progress
Research on the cost of employee turnover, management bandwidth allocation during vacancy periods, and the economic impact of workplace policies on retention.
Brandon Hall Group
Research on onboarding effectiveness, new hire retention, and the relationship between structured onboarding programmes and first-year turnover rates.
LinkedIn Economic Research
Workforce Learning Report, internal mobility data, and talent flow analysis. LinkedIn's data on internal transfers and retention is based on the world's largest professional network.
Korn Ferry
Executive turnover cost estimation, leadership transition research, and C-suite replacement timeline data.
Academy of Management Journal
Peer-reviewed research on turnover contagion, the cascade effect of departures, and social network influences on voluntary turnover decisions.
Editorial Policy
- All statistics and figures are sourced from published research. Each data point includes a source attribution.
- The site is reviewed and updated quarterly to incorporate the latest BLS JOLTS data, SHRM benchmarks, and Gallup research.
- Calculator multipliers are reviewed annually against the latest published research and adjusted if the evidence warrants it.
- If an error is identified, it is corrected within 48 hours and the correction is noted.
- The site does not accept sponsored content, paid placements, or editorial influence from HR software vendors.
Disclaimer
RetentionCost.com is an independent educational resource. Cost estimates are based on published research from SHRM, Gallup, Work Institute, and BLS data. Figures are indicative and will vary by organisation, industry, role type, geographic location, and hiring market conditions. This site is not affiliated with any HR software vendor or consulting firm. The information provided does not constitute professional advice. Organisations should consult with their HR and finance teams before making retention investment decisions.
Last updated: 16 April 2026.