How to Calculate Attrition Rate in Excel

Attrition Rate Calculator

Calculate employee turnover percentage and generate Excel formulas.

function calculateAttrition() { // Get input elements by ID var startInput = document.getElementById('startEmployees'); var endInput = document.getElementById('endEmployees'); var sepInput = document.getElementById('separations'); var resultsDiv = document.getElementById('resultsArea'); // Parse values var startCount = parseFloat(startInput.value); var endCount = parseFloat(endInput.value); var separations = parseFloat(sepInput.value); // Validation if (isNaN(startCount) || isNaN(endCount) || isNaN(separations)) { alert("Please enter valid numbers for all fields."); return; } if (startCount < 0 || endCount < 0 || separations < 0) { alert("Employee counts cannot be negative."); return; } // Calculation Logic // Formula: (Separations / Average Headcount) * 100 // Average Headcount = (Start + End) / 2 var averageHeadcount = (startCount + endCount) / 2; if (averageHeadcount === 0) { alert("Average headcount is zero. Cannot calculate attrition."); return; } var attritionDecimal = separations / averageHeadcount; var attritionPercent = attritionDecimal * 100; // Display Results document.getElementById('finalRate').innerHTML = attritionPercent.toFixed(2) + "%"; document.getElementById('avgHeadcount').innerHTML = averageHeadcount.toFixed(1); document.getElementById('totalSeps').innerHTML = separations; // Show results container resultsDiv.style.display = 'block'; }

How to Calculate Attrition Rate in Excel

Calculating attrition rate (also known as employee turnover rate) is a fundamental HR metric used to measure the rate at which employees leave a workforce over a given period. While specialized HR software often handles this automatically, knowing how to calculate attrition rate in Excel is an essential skill for custom reporting and analysis.

The Attrition Rate Formula

Before entering data into Excel, it is crucial to understand the standard logic behind the calculation. The most common formula used by HR professionals is:

Attrition Rate = (Number of Separations / Average Number of Employees) × 100

Where:

• Separations: The total number of employees who left the company (voluntarily or involuntarily) during the specific time period.
• Average Number of Employees: Calculated as (Employees at Start + Employees at End) / 2.

Step-by-Step Excel Tutorial

Follow these steps to build your own attrition tracker in Excel:

1. Set up your columns: Open a new Excel sheet and label the following headers:
   • Cell A1: Start Headcount
   • Cell B1: End Headcount
   • Cell C1: Separations
   • Cell D1: Attrition Rate
2. Enter your data:
   • In A2, enter the number of employees at the beginning of the month/year (e.g., 200).
   • In B2, enter the number of employees at the end of the period (e.g., 190).
   • In C2, enter the number of employees who left (e.g., 15).
3. Enter the Formula: Click on cell D2 and paste the following formula:
   
   =(C2 / AVERAGE(A2, B2)) * 100
   
   
4. Format as Percentage: Although multiplying by 100 gives you the number, using Excel's percentage formatting is often cleaner. If you use the percentage button in Excel, remove the "* 100" from the formula: =C2/AVERAGE(A2,B2).

Example Scenario

Let's say you are calculating the monthly attrition for January.

Metric	Value	Notes
Start Headcount	150	Employees on Jan 1st
End Headcount	155	Employees on Jan 31st
Separations	5	Employees who left in Jan
Average Headcount	152.5	(150 + 155) / 2
Attrition Rate	3.28%	(5 / 152.5) * 100

Annualizing Monthly Attrition

If you calculate the rate for a single month (e.g., 3.28%), it might be useful to project what the annual turnover would look like if that trend continues. To calculate the Annualized Attrition Rate in Excel:

= (Monthly Attrition Rate) * 12

However, for accuracy, it is better to aggregate the data over the full year rather than multiplying a single month's volatility.

Why This Metric Matters

Tracking attrition helps organizations identify trends in employee retention. A high attrition rate may indicate issues with company culture, compensation, or management, while an extremely low rate might suggest stagnation. By using Excel to track these numbers month-over-month, HR departments can visualize trends and take proactive measures to retain top talent.