# How to calculate employee turnover rate in Excel

Divide leavers by the average headcount: `=C2/AVERAGE(B2,D2)`, where B is the starting and D the ending headcount.

**Excel:** `=C2/AVERAGE(B2,D2)` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C | D | E |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Department | Headcount at start | Leavers | Headcount at end | Turnover |
| Sales | 40 | 6 | 44 |  |
| Support | 25 | 5 | 23 |  |
| IT | 18 | 1 | 20 |  |
| Finance | 12 | 2 | 12 |  |
| Operations | 60 | 9 | 54 |  |

Formula in E2, filled to E6: `=C2/AVERAGE(B2,D2)`

Result: 14.3%; 20.8%; 5.3%; 16.7%; 15.8%

## How it works

Headcount changes during the period, so the standard HR formula divides leavers by the average headcount: the start plus the end, halved. Sales lost 6 people against an average of 42: 14.3%.

## Other ways

- `=C2/B2`: Divides by the starting headcount; simpler, but it overstates turnover in shrinking teams and understates it in growing ones. (Gives Sales 15.0%.)

## Common mistakes

- Monthly turnover rates can't be averaged into an annual rate. Add up the leavers for the year and divide by the average headcount for the year.
- Decide whether leavers include involuntary exits and internal transfers, and keep the rule the same across periods.

## Questions

**How do I calculate the company-wide rate?**

Use the totals: `=SUM(C2:C6)/AVERAGE(SUM(B2:B6),SUM(D2:D6))`.

**How do I calculate the retention rate?**

Count the people from the start still employed at the end, divided by the starting headcount; with these numbers, `=(B2-C2)/B2` if no one who joined also left.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/employee-turnover-rate