What share of the people you hired left again quickly. The denominator is the hire cohort, not average headcount, and that difference is where most versions of this number go wrong. Every number on this page is calculated in your browser and never leaves your device.
Every hiring cohort tells you something different, and the comparison between them is where the hiring problem shows up. The HRAnalyst™ Workbook is a printable tracker for every calculator on this site, with the formula, the recommended cadence and space for four quarters. Join the list and we will send it, along with new calculators and workforce analytics as they publish.
Formula used
Ninety Day Rate = (Left Within 90 Days ÷ Hires in Cohort) × 100
First Year Rate = (Left Within 365 Days ÷ Hires in Cohort) × 100
First Year Survivors = Hires in Cohort minus Left Within 365 Days
Both rates divide by the hire cohort, the people you actually hired in that group. They do not divide by average headcount, which is the denominator for overall turnover and answers a different question entirely. The 90 day group sits inside the first year group, so the first year rate is always the larger of the two.
A first year rate only means something once the whole cohort has had a full year to leave. If you measure a cohort hired four months ago, most of them have not had the chance, and the number will look flattering for a reason that has nothing to do with your hiring. Wait for the cohort to age, or say plainly which window you are reporting.
A high ninety day rate and a low remainder points at selection, onboarding or the accuracy of the job description. Losses spread evenly through the year point at something else. That is why this page shows the two windows side by side rather than one blended figure.
New hire turnover asks what share of one hiring group left again. Overall turnover asks what share of the whole organization left. Swap the denominators and you get a number that looks plausible, sits in a deck for a quarter, and answers neither question.
That is the overall turnover formula, and it answers a different question. Dividing new hire departures by the whole organization buries the signal in a much larger denominator, and the resulting number is neither new hire turnover nor turnover.
If part of the cohort has been with you for four months, they have not had a year in which to leave, and the first year rate is understated. The fix is either to wait or to label the number with the window you actually observed.
A ninety day involuntary exit is usually a selection problem rather than a retention one. Blending it into the same figure as resignations hides which of the two you are looking at, and sends the conversation to onboarding when it belonged in hiring.
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