Attrition Cost Estimator
Estimates the total cost of employee attrition by calculating replacement cost per departure (recruiting, onboarding, ramp-up, and lost productivity). Computes the ROI of retention initiatives to justify investment in reducing turnover.
HR - Attrition Cost Estimator.xlsx
Excel (.xlsx) — No macros — Works in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice
What This Spreadsheet Solves
- Attrition cost is treated as a salary line item when it is much larger
- No data to quantify how much each departure truly costs
- Cannot build a business case for retention programs
- Leadership underestimates the financial impact of turnover
- No framework to compare retention investment against replacement cost
Who This Is For
- HR directors building retention strategy business cases
- People analytics teams modeling attrition impact
- CFOs reviewing workforce cost efficiency
- Department heads managing high-turnover teams
Inputs
- textRole / Level
- $Annual Salary
- #Number of Departures
- #Average Time to Fill (Months)
- $Retention Program Cost
Outputs
- Replacement cost per departure
- Total attrition cost by role
- Attrition rate
- Retention program ROI
- Cost of vacancy (lost productivity during open position)
How Calculations Work
Replacement cost per departure is typically 0.5x to 2x annual salary, configurable by role level. It includes recruiting fees, onboarding, ramp-up productivity loss, and vacancy cost (monthly salary times months to fill). Retention ROI is (Total Attrition Cost Avoided - Retention Program Cost) / Retention Program Cost. Attrition rate is Departures / Total Headcount.
Example Use Case
Scenario: A company loses 6 engineers ($120,000 avg salary, 3 months to fill) and 4 support reps ($50,000, 1.5 months to fill). Replacement multiplier: 1.5x for engineers, 0.75x for support. A retention program costs $40,000.
Result: Engineer replacement cost: $180,000 each, $1,080,000 total. Support: $37,500 each, $150,000 total. Total attrition cost: $1,230,000. If the retention program prevents 3 engineer departures, ROI = ($540,000 - $40,000) / $40,000 = 1,150%.
What You Get — 5 Sheets
Technical Details
Frequently Asked Questions
What replacement cost multiplier should I use?
Common ranges: 0.5x salary for entry-level, 1.0-1.5x for mid-level, 2.0x or more for senior/executive. Adjust in CONFIG based on your industry data.
What is included in vacancy cost?
Lost productivity during the open position, estimated as the departing employee's monthly salary times months to fill. This is a proxy for unrealized output.
How do I estimate retention program impact?
Estimate the number of departures the program would prevent. Even conservative estimates (e.g., preventing 2-3 departures) often show strong ROI given high replacement costs.
Should I include voluntary and involuntary attrition?
Separate them on the INPUT sheet. Retention programs primarily address voluntary attrition, so calculate retention ROI using only voluntary departures.
How accurate is the salary multiplier approach?
It is an industry-standard estimate. For greater accuracy, track actual recruiting, onboarding, and ramp costs per departure and enter those directly.
Download Attrition Cost Estimator
Ready to use immediately. Enter your data in the INPUT sheet, see results in OUTPUT.