Here is an excerpt from an article written by Cliff Stevenson for Talent Management magazine. As he observes, “Turnover is one of those things leaders pay attention to when it goes bad. They don’t usually think of good turnover, although it does exist. Conventional wisdom is there is no perfect turnover number — what’s good for one organization may not be good for another. Further, there are many ways to distinguish between good and bad turnover, or what is the right amount for any organization. Different industries will have different rates. Context is critical to properly gauge meaning and identify where interventions may be necessary.”

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For Douglas Punt, senior human resource consultant and project manager at ConnectiCare, a Connecticut-based health insurance company, hiring and termination are almost directly linked, and therefore changing hiring practices can have a linear impact on turnover. Employees who are given clear job expectations and hired for the right skills tend to be successful and want to stay.

Punt used turnover rate information to highlight the potential problem with job descriptions to HR staff, and they were able to provide some timely interventions such as talent-based interviews, personality assessments, interview training and techniques on how to write clearer job descriptions.

Those interventions improved the hiring process; both voluntary and involuntary separations went down from their high of more than 30 percent to their current rate of less than 5 percent.

In addition to controlling turnover, ConnectiCare also was able to boost the overall metrics of its customer service department.

In many cases the actual turnover numbers don’t matter; the reasons for the turnover are what’s important. “You have to look at the whole picture,” Punt said.

“We have low companywide turnover, so turnover at positions that the call center folks might be interested in moving to might be virtually 0 percent, and we’re hiring very talented people who might be anxious to get to a higher-level position; that might explain an increase in turnover. Or if business needs or job expectation changes, you might end up with people who are underperforming, which will result in turnover. You have to look a little deeper than just the number.”

It’s a complex subject. Even when looking at historical turnover rates within a company, rates are meaningless without context. At ConnectiCare, the bright young minds entering the company were growing discouraged that there was nowhere for them to move to once they had mastered their entry-level jobs, so they moved to greener pastures.

This is a highly different proposition than a call center where top representatives leave because of antiquated managerial methods or discriminatory promotional practices.

When viewed as part of the overall business, turnover is an indicator, much like the gauges on the instrument panel of a vehicle. Five gallons of gas may be acceptable for one car, but disastrous for another.

The number itself is only relevant to the specific situation, but keeping an eye on it can highlight trends or patterns that can aid planning to avoid breakdowns and ultimately help talent managers arrive wherever the organization is headed.

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Cliff Stevenson is senior human capital researcher  for the Institute for Corporate Productivity, a research organization. He can be reached at the Institute