Cost-of-Attrition Worksheet
What does a regrettable departure cost you?
A simple structure for putting a number on the loss of a top performer. There are no benchmarks and no industry averages here. You supply the inputs from your own organization, and the result is yours: a defensible figure you can put in front of your CFO.
Four cost categories: replacement, ramp, knowledge, and coverage. Ten minutes with your own numbers.
How to use it
Three steps before you start
The goal is not precision. It is an order of magnitude you can defend in a budget conversation.
Pick one real departure
Choose a recent regrettable exit, a person you did not want to lose. A specific role keeps the numbers honest.
Gather your own numbers
Salary, agency fees, time to fill, and ramp time usually live with TA, HRBP, and finance partners. Estimates are fine.
Total it, then annualize
The per-departure figure matters. The annual figure, multiplied by regrettable exits per year, is what gets funded.
The worksheet
Cost one regrettable departure
Enter whatever you know. Leave anything blank and it counts as zero. Totals update as you type.
Replacement
What it costs to find and land the next person.
Ramp
Salary paid while the new hire gets to full productivity.
Knowledge
What left with them and has to be rebuilt.
Coverage
The cost of the empty seat until it is filled.
Cost of one regrettable departure
$0
Replacement + ramp + knowledge + coverage, from your inputs above.
Annual exposure
$0
What this pattern costs you every year it continues.
What to do with the number
Where to start depends on where you are
Most organizations already own the tools that address this: talent marketplace, career planning, and learning features licensed in Workday but never put in employees’ hands. The starting point depends on the state of your foundation.
Stabilize
If job and worker data is out of date, fix that first. A career path built on stale data sends people toward roles that no longer exist.
Optimize
If the data is in decent shape and career and learning features are licensed but off, turn them on. Start with development, internal mobility, and a way for people to see their options.
Modernize
Create the experiences that keep your best people: personalized learning, visible career paths, and rewards designed as one experience rather than three separate projects.
The tools to fix this are usually already paid for
Skillcentrix is a Workday-exclusive talent and skills partner. If your number is bigger than you expected, we can help you find out which licensed capabilities would move it, and in what order.
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