← Back to resources

Employee turnover cost calculator

High turnover is not just a nuisance, it is expensive, and most of the cost stays invisible. Adjust the values below to your situation and see straight away what every departure and replacement costs you per year. If you want it precise, open the detail mode and calculate from the ground up. All amounts are in Swiss francs (CHF), and the default assumptions are based on Swiss salary structures including employer contributions.

Employees full-time equivalents Turnover rate per year in % Average annual salary in CHF, gross full-time Role type cost factor in % of the annual salary Detail mode: set the assumptions yourself

External recruitment cost job ads, agencies, CHF per case Internal recruitment effort hours (HR + line manager) Time to fill months until the role is refilled Onboarding cost training, IT, admin, CHF per case Ramp-up time months until full productivity Offboarding & knowledge handover CHF per case

What turnover costs you

Turnover cost per year
including employer contributions -

Cost per turnover case
departure + replacement -

Turnover cases per year
departures that get refilled -

Share of the payroll
≈ - full-time roles -

Departure

Replacement

What if you brought turnover down?

Target turnover rate 10%

Savings per year

Book an intro call

What the cost is made of

The departure itself is cheap. Refilling the role and the productivity ramp-up account for the lion's share.

Exit & loss of knowledge-

Vacancy-

Recruitment-

Onboarding-

Productivity ramp-up-

What the number does not show

These consequences are hard to put into francs. The calculated total is therefore a conservative floor, not a ceiling.

Loss of knowledge & relationships Contagion effect, one departure pulls others along Extra load & burnout risk in the team Weaker employer brand Customer relationships at risk Management time spent instead of leading

How this is calculated

Turnover cases per year = employees × turnover rate. What counts are departures that get refilled, pure growth hires are not turnover cost.
Quick mode: cost per case = annual salary × cost factor for the role type (benchmarks from HR research: ~40% for simple roles up to ~250% for leadership).
Detail mode: cost per case = recruitment + vacancy + onboarding + productivity ramp-up + offboarding, calculated from the ground up.
Full costs: vacancy and ramp-up are calculated on the fully loaded salary (gross salary × 1.25 for Swiss employer contributions: AHV/IV/EO, ALV, BVG, UVG, FAK).
Vacancy = time to fill × monthly salary (fully loaded) × 50% productivity loss. Ramp-up = ramp-up time × monthly salary × 50% average productivity gap.
Savings = cases avoided × cost per case, at the target turnover rate you set.

Benchmarks and default assumptions are for orientation only and do not replace an individual analysis. This page is an estimating aid, not advice.

Related resources

Corporate Culture Check How healthy is your culture? Eight dimensions, spider diagram, about 6 minutes. Efficiency calculator What does the status quo of inefficient ways of working cost you per year? Modern Work Check Where does your organisation stand on modern ways of working?

Turnover has many causes. I can help you improve the employee experience from the first day to the last, with better collaboration, the right tools and an onboarding that actually sticks. Let's talk →