How do I calculate employee attrition rate and what is considered a healthy rate?

Attrition rate is calculated by dividing the number of employees who left during a period by the average number of employees in that period, then multiplying by 100. For an annual rate, that is: (employees who left during the year ÷ average headcount for the year) × 100.

What counts as healthy depends heavily on industry, role, and region — sectors with high turnover such as retail, BPO, and frontline roles run far higher than specialised or senior functions, so there is no universal benchmark. More useful than a single number is the trend over time, the split between voluntary and involuntary exits, and attrition concentrated among high performers or new joiners, which signals specific problems. Track attrition alongside its causes rather than treating the percentage in isolation.