Turnover rates and organizational performance

Abstract

The author of this article reviews the burgeoning literature on turnover rates and dimensions of organizational performance, and concludes that substantial evidence indicates that turnover rates have negative implications for several dimensions of organizational performance (e.g., safety, productivity, and monetary), that the content of turnover rates plays a role in the magnitude and form of the relationship between turnover rates and organizational performance, and that turnover rates affect distal measures (e.g., profitability, financial performance) through decreased productivity and losses in human and social capital. A roadmap is provided for future theory-building and empirical work in this area.