math

The hidden payroll leak

Most leaders underestimate turnover and disengagement by 60% or more. The number below is probably smaller than your reality — and still large enough to change the conversation.

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What is disengagement and turnover really costing you?

Estimate your annual cost in under a minute. Transparent math. No email required.

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US average: ~17% | Your industry may vary
Sets replacement cost multiplier
▸ Advanced: fine-tune the assumptions
Ads, agency fees, interviewer time
Training time, trainer hours, materials
Time to full productivity

Your Estimated Annual Turnover Cost

$0
per employee, per year
Turnover cost = (headcount × turnover rate) × [ (salary × role multiplier) + recruiting + onboarding + (salary × ramp months/12 × ramp drag %) ]. All assumptions are editable above.
Gross wages, not fully loaded cost
Gallup US average: ~52%
Gallup US average: ~17%
▸ Advanced: drag factors & absenteeism

Your Estimated Annual Disengagement Cost

$0
per employee, per year
Disengagement cost = payroll drag (payroll × segment % × drag %) + absenteeism (extra absent days × segment headcount × daily labor cost). No hidden multipliers.
Want to see the assumptions under the hood?

Turnover cost per departure = (annual salary × role multiplier) + recruiting cost + onboarding cost + (salary × ramp months ÷ 12 × productivity shortfall). Disengagement cost = total payroll × (% not engaged × productivity drag₁) + (% actively disengaged × productivity drag₂) + absenteeism cost. Role multipliers and Gallup engagement benchmarks are editable. Defaults reflect Gallup’s US averages for 2025, published January 2026.

That number is only the part you can measure. The parts you can’t: the meetings that don’t happen (or, sometimes worse, the ones that do), the ideas that don’t get shared, the customers who quietly leave. They cost more. If you’d like to discuss your results, let us know.
HQ Cost Calculator

What this number actually means.

Replacement is the smallest piece.

The formulas above count recruiting, onboarding, and ramp time. They don’t count the institutional knowledge that walks out the door, the team morale dip, or the customers who noticed a name change.

Disengagement is bigger than turnover.

For most companies, the cost of employees who stay but check out is two to three times the cost of employees who leave. Disengagement is the quieter, more expensive problem.

The Shadow is the gap.

The difference between what leadership believes about the culture and what the frontline actually experiences is gap these numbers measure.

Closing it is what we do.

What’s next?

Take the 60-second
HQ Snapshot.

You’ve seen the cost. Now see where it’s coming from. Ten questions, a quick analysis, and one clear first move.
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Learn the method
behind the math.

The formulas above estimate the cost. The HQ Method is how we fix it: a measurable, practice-based system built from 30 years of what actually works.
Explore The HQ Method.

Start a conversation
with us.

If your number made you wince, let’s talk. No pitch. Just a 30-minute call to figure out whether EmpraxisHQ is the right fit.
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Culture isn’t what you say.
It’s what they feel.
Let’s make them match.