Qu'est-ce que Retention Rate ?

Definition

The retention rate is the percentage of employees who remain with an organisation over a defined period (typically 12 months), excluding planned departures (retirement, fixed-term contract ends). It is the complement of the turnover rate: Retention rate = 100% − Turnover rate.

In practice

Retention is driven by multiple factors that research has consistently identified: quality of direct management (the primary driver — people leave managers, not companies); compensation competitiveness; career development and growth opportunities; psychological safety and belonging; meaningful work; and work-life balance including flexibility. Effective retention strategies therefore address these specific levers: systematic manager quality assessment, annual compensation benchmarking, internal mobility programmes, transparent career paths, and flexible work policies. High retention among the best performers is the goal — retention of disengaged employees is equally damaging. New hire retention is a critical leading indicator: high 90-day attrition signals onboarding or role/person fit problems that can be diagnosed and addressed quickly.

Key takeaway

Retention is mostly won or lost in the management relationship and early employment experience — investing in manager quality and structured onboarding delivers the strongest retention ROI.