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Reference

Agent attrition

The share of agents who leave in a year, usually departures over average headcount.

Also called: agent turnover, attrition rate.

Why it matters

Each departure costs recruiting, training and the months a new agent takes to reach full speed, and the gap is often covered with overtime.

How it is calculated

Departures and hires
Departures = round(agents × annual attrition). Hires = round(departures × backfill share)Seats not refilled are a capacity decision the tool routes to Staffing and Occupancy, never a free saving.As published in the Attrition Cost Calculator method, version 1.3.
Cost as a share of salary
All-in per departure ÷ salaryTested against the frontline planning band below.As published in the Attrition Cost Calculator method, version 1.3.

Before you compare

  • Some publishers count every departure; some count only agents the center did not plan to lose. Read the definition before you compare.
  • Attrition in the first months is often much higher than the annual figure suggests.

Published figures

What publishers report for this measure. Each counts something slightly different, so read the definition before you compare; nothing here is averaged across publishers.

Agent attritionBenchmark study

Each publisher defines attrition its own way; read the definition before comparing. No free source publishes agent attrition by industry.

  • 31%Mean, US, 2023All agents leaving in 12 months over average headcount. Median 24%.ContactBabel, read on RingCentral, 2024. The US Contact Center Decision-Makers' Guide 2024, HR benchmarks.
  • 39%Unmanaged attrition, 2024Leaders' reported average: North America 36%, EMEA 41%. Unmanaged means agents the center did not plan to lose.NICE, Apr 2025. Managing the Modern Contact Center: Current Employer Trends (survey of contact center leaders, North America and EMEA).
  • 35%Agent turnover, 2022SQM's figure for 2022, which it called the highest it had measured in 25 years.SQM Group, 19 Jan 2023. What Are the Industry Standards for the Top Call Center KPIs?
Cost and time to hireBenchmark study

All industries and all nonexecutive jobs, reported by SHRM members. Contact center hiring is not split out.

  • $5,475Average cost per hire, nonexecutiveSHRM, 15 Oct 2025. SHRM Releases 2025 Benchmarking Reports.
  • 39 daysMedian time to fill, nonexecutiveCalendar days.SHRM, 2026. Recruiting Benchmarking.

Measure yours