Voluntary Exits
Count of employees who resigned during the period (initiated by employee, not the company). The numerator of the `hr.voluntary_turnover_rate` calculation and the headline "are we losing people" number boards anchor on. Common pitfall: ambiguous "mutually agreed" exits — companies sometimes log managed-out exits as voluntary to keep the visible number low. Define the test: if the employee initiated the conversation and there was no formal performance trigger, it is voluntary; otherwise log as termination. — HR KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier)
No public third-party standard anchors this KPI yet, so I'mBoard authors and maintains the definition — transparently labeled as editorial tier. See the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system and the back-attribution workstream.
Rogue ID: hr.voluntary_exits
Type: Number
Domain: HR
Definition
Count of employees who resigned during the period (initiated by employee, not the company). The numerator of the hr.voluntary_turnover_rate calculation and the headline "are we losing people" number boards anchor on. Common pitfall: ambiguous "mutually agreed" exits — companies sometimes log managed-out exits as voluntary to keep the visible number low. Define the test: if the employee initiated the conversation and there was no formal performance trigger, it is voluntary; otherwise log as termination.
Formula
Count of employees with employee-initiated separations (resignations, retirements) during the period. Excludes terminations (those go in `hr.terminations`), exclusions for cause, and contractor-end events.Why it matters
The leading indicator the board reads for retention health and culture risk. Concentration in a single team, level, or tenure cohort is more informative than the absolute number — investigate the pattern, not just the headline.
How to interpret
Convert to hr.voluntary_turnover_rate (annualized %) for cross-period comparison and benchmarking. Spike triggers: 3+ voluntary exits from one team in a quarter, or any C-1 (executive direct-report) departure — both warrant board narrative in hr.talent_challenges.
Related KPIs
hr.voluntary_turnover_ratehr.at_risk_counthr.retention_initiativeshr.talent_challengeshr.total_headcount
Source
I'mBoard editorial — authored and maintained by I'mBoard, first published 2026-04-01. No third-party standard is cited for this KPI; when one emerges, the definition is back-attributed and promoted to the published tier (a minor version bump). Read the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system, attribution rules, and dispute process.
Stage relevance
| Company stage | Priority |
|---|---|
| Series A | Core |
| Series B | Core |
| Series C+ | Core |
| Public | Core |
Suggested for stages: Series A, Series B, Series C+, Public.
Default owning functions
- HR
Machine-readable
- This KPI as JSON:
/api/ontology/hr/voluntary_exits.json - All HR KPIs:
/api/ontology/hr.json - Full catalog:
/api/ontology/index.json
Total Headcount
Total number of employees (W-2 / direct-employment equivalents) across all departments at period end. The base denominator for nearly every other HR ratio — turnover rate, revenue per FTE, payroll as % of burn — so getting the snapshot date and the FTE-vs-headcount convention right matters. Common pitfall: mixing headcount (people) with FTE (capacity) — they diverge whenever part-time, contractor, or shared-services arrangements exist. Document the convention (typically "FTE-equivalent, employees only, end-of-period") at the board level once and apply consistently. — HR KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
Voluntary Turnover Rate
Voluntary exits over a trailing period, expressed as an annualized percentage of average headcount — the headline attrition number on the HR scorecard. Anchored to the Mercer US Turnover Survey methodology (Mercer reports voluntary vs involuntary turnover annually). Common pitfall: comparing a single quarter's annualized rate against an annual benchmark — short-window annualization is noisy. Best practice is trailing-12-months for benchmark comparison and trailing-3 or trailing-6 for trend reads. Per #1426: stage-specific industry norms here are folk-wisdom unless tied to a specific Mercer or comparable published cut. — HR KPI anchored to Mercer US Turnover Survey 2025.