Most operators treat turnover as a line item. That is the mistake. Turnover isn't a line item - it's a multiplier. It attaches to every other number on your P&L: revenue per FTE, compliance exposure, client outcomes, referral velocity, and the survival math of your leadership bench.
Here's the problem with the standard "cost per hire" framing your finance team is using: it usually includes recruiter fees, signing bonus, and onboarding hours. What it almost always leaves out is the productivity deficit during the ramp window, the secondary turnover that follows when a team loses someone strong, and the compliance risk window when a shift is filled by someone still building documentation muscle.
When you add those back in, the industry benchmark of "6-9 months of salary per separation" starts to look conservative - especially in HHS, where the regulated headcount makes every vacancy a billing-capacity issue, not just a staffing issue.
Model your real exposure.
Enter your numbers below. The calculator assumes the industry-standard 75% of annual salary per separation, adjusted for the HHS-specific overhead. Adjust the multiplier if your organization runs leaner.
Get the full breakdown.
We'll send the annotated PDF version with the compliance-adjusted model, a 90-day reduction plan, and the three levers we most often pull with clients at your scale.
The three levers that actually move this number.
If your annual exposure is sitting above $1M - and for most HHS organizations in the 100-500 FTE range, it is - these are the only three levers we've seen move the needle in under 90 days. Everything else is long-cycle.
Compress the ramp window.
Most HHS turnover cost sits inside months 1-4, not the separation event itself. A structured first-90 with documentation coaching, shadow shifts, and weekly calibration meetings cuts early exits by 30-50%.
Stop losing your stayers.
Secondary turnover - the strong performer who leaves 60 days after a peer exits - drives more exposure than the original separation. Identify your flight-risk stayers quarterly and build retention paths before the trigger event.
Fix the comp bands, then the posting copy.
Not the other way around. If your bands are 8-15% behind market (common in HHS), no recruiting copy refresh will close the gap. We audit band math first, then rewrite the top-of-funnel.
What to do with the number you just calculated.
If the calculator showed you something north of $800K, that's usually the number that triggers the board conversation. But most organizations walk into that conversation armed with a problem and no plan. That's the wrong sequence.
The right sequence is: calculate exposure, identify the two levers that fit your operating model, build a 90-day reduction plan, then brief the board. We do that work with clients inside the Workforce Diagnostic. If the number above crossed your internal threshold, that's the right next conversation.
Ready to pressure-test your model?
30-minute working session. We'll walk through your actual numbers, not a demo deck.