Agent Turnover: Insights From the Industry

This is a short version of The Onyx Operator — regular insights delivered to agency owners and leaders on Onyx Platform.

We recently pulled 12 months of agent roster data for agencies on Onyx. Between 30 and 45 percent of agents turned over within a year, and the larger the agency, the higher the churn. The working rule that emerged from the data: agencies should expect to lose about one agent every month for every 15 to 20 agents they have.

For a 50-agent agency, that means making 30 to 40 hires a year just to keep headcount flat. Our data shows that this is structural, not a sign that an agency is broken. Across the economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that roughly 3 percent of workers separate from their employers in a typical month. Industry studies of call center roles put annual turnover near 40 percent, with first-year attrition running far higher.

The owners who handle this well stop treating hiring as a rare activity that begins when someone quits. They run recruiting as an always-on pipeline, continually sourcing and screening so that when a seat opens on Monday, a qualified candidate is already in motion instead of leaving a four-week hole.

Talk to us to learn how we can help you build an always-on recruiting pipeline and keep pace with your workforce needs.