The Number Everyone Gets Wrong
Ask a manager what attrition costs and they'll say something like "one month's salary." Some will say three months. The real number, when you account for everything, is closer to 6–9 months of fully loaded salary for a frontline agent.
Most managers only count the visible costs: recruitment fees, training time, the salary of the person who left. They miss the invisible ones.
The Hidden Costs
Productivity ramp. A new agent takes 3–6 months to reach full productivity. During that time, they're handling fewer contacts, making more errors, and requiring more supervision. That cost is real but never appears on an attrition report.
Team disruption. When someone leaves, the team absorbs the gap. Overtime increases. Morale dips. Sometimes, one departure triggers a wave.
Knowledge loss. The agent who's been there three years knows things that aren't in any process document. That knowledge walks out the door with them.
Why This Matters
When you underestimate attrition cost, you underinvest in retention. You approve a 500 SAR monthly bonus to retain someone, not realizing that losing them costs 40,000 SAR. The math doesn't work — but only if you're using the real number.
Attrition is a symptom. Almost never the disease. Fix the root cause, not the exit interview.