Turnover: who leaves is what matters

"I'm out." The final signal.

75%
of voluntary departures are management-related
€960K
gap depending on WHO leaves (high vs low performers) for 50 people

What everyone knows

Turnover is expensive. Recruitment, integration, time to full productivity, lost output during the vacancy.

All of that is documented. Everyone knows it.

What nobody says

The cost of turnover depends on who leaves. A high performer costs 200% of their salary to replace. A middle performer, 100%. A low performer, 40%.

When your management practices are dysfunctional, it's your high performers who leave first.

The weighted calculation

For 7 departures per year (15% turnover on 50 people) at an average employer cost of €85K:

Scenario Profile of departures Annual cost
Worst case 3 HP, 2 MP, 2 LP ~€1.2M
Average case 2 HP, 3 MP, 2 LP ~€600K
Best case 0 HP, 2 MP, 5 LP ~€240K

The gap between worst and best case:

€960K per year

That's the cost of losing your talent instead of losing your deadweight.

Note: HP = High Performer (×2.0), MP = Middle Performer (×1.0), LP = Low Performer (×0.4)

75% of departures are management-driven

Gallup (2008): at least 75% of voluntary departures are linked to factors managers can influence.

Not salary. Not the job market. Management.

  • The costly promotion (an ill-suited manager who drives people away)
  • Deciding without knowing (the gap between leadership and the front line)
  • The €150,000 feedback (nobody says a word)
  • The price of inconsistency (saying one thing, doing another)
Calculate your real cost The 8 performance killers

The full cascade

Disengagement leads to absenteeism. Then to departures. Each stage costs more than the last.

01
Stage 1

Disengagement

€60-240K / year

Learn more →
02
Stage 2

Absenteeism

+€116K / year

Learn more →
03
Stage 3

Turnover

+€1.2M / year

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