Turnover includes both voluntary and involuntary employee departures, while attrition refers to departures that are voluntary and/or “natural”—such as retirement or a position being discontinued. Employee churn is the total number of turnover and attrition cases combined.

Attrition rate refers to the percentage of employees who leave an organization over a specific period, often annually. It captures the loss of human capital within a workforce. Churn rate, on the other hand, refers specifically to the percentage of customers who stop doing business with a company.

Churn rate indicates the number of customers who have stopped using a company’s product or services during a given period, while attrition rate is used to measure the reduction in staff numbers over time.

While churn rate typically refers to the loss of customers, attrition can refer to the loss of any resource, including employees, subscribers, or clients. In a B2B context, it is frequently used to discuss employee turnover.

Attrition or churn is gradual workforce reduction through employee retirements, resignations, deaths or elimination of positions without immediately filling vacancies. Unlike turnover, attrition generally involves voluntary departures rather than dismissals or layoffs.