Marcus flipped the report across the desk so I could see it. Turnover had crept up significantly over last year and HR was on the rampage. “I think we have to raise our base pay, though we are already over market, we just can’t seem to keep people.”

“Tell, me, why do they leave?”

“Oh, they don’t leave, we usually fire them.”

“Are you keeping track of this? How many of these turnovers were voluntary and how many were terminations?” I asked.

Marcus thought for a minute, “I’m not sure. We haven’t been keeping the numbers that way.”

Turnover can be deceiving. Tracking turnover statistics needs a breakdown, at least to voluntary vs. terminations. Voluntary departures are likely a retention issue. Terminations are likely a recruiting issue. Solving retention issues are completely different than solving recruiting issues. As your team sits down to review your turnover statistics, you might consider more detail in your breakdown. -TF