It's hard to come up with a universal indicator, because different situations require different cultures. Examples: - Some companies have incubation models -

It's hard to come up with a universal indicator, because different situations require different cultures. Examples: - Some companies have incubation models - small teams trying new things. If they work, they grow. If not, everyone leaves as things wind down. - Services heavy firms have higher turnover than pure product companies. (It's hard being a service employee) - Same with sales heavy cultures. - If you're a great employer in Des Moines (Iowa) you'll have less turnover than Silicon Valley. I love metrics, and struggle with this a lot. A couple signs: - Why do people leave? (Money? To become a teacher?) - Do you have to pay more than the competition? - How many of your A players recruit their best friends? - Do customers want to be employees? - Do ex-employees want to become customers? Very hard to benchmark!