--- title: Early Leavers Are Warranty Claims on Hiring | Case Study description: How a life sciences company separated first-year leavers from the rest, and turned new-hire attrition into a monthly measure of its hiring. image: https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/hubfs/social-sharing/cases/case-new-hire-attrition-analysis-at-a-life-sciences-company.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/new-hire-attrition-analysis-at-a-life-sciences-company#main-content) [![PeopleCentrix](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/hubfs/assets/images/peoplecentrix-logo.svg "PeopleCentrix")](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/) [LET'S CONNECT →](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/work-with-us) - [People Strategy](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/people-strategy) - [People Centricity](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/people-centricity) - [How We Work](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/how-we-work) - [Insights](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-thinking) Show submenu for Insights - [Our Work](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) - [Our Thinking](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-thinking) - [About Us](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/about-us) - [Work With Us](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/work-with-us) - [People Strategy](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/people-strategy) - [People Centricity](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/people-centricity) - [How We Work](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/how-we-work) - [Insights](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-thinking) Show submenu for Insights - [Our Work](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) - [Our Thinking](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-thinking) - [About Us](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/about-us) - [Work With Us](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/work-with-us) People Centricity case study # Early Leavers Are *Warranty Claims* on Your Hiring **69**sites in the analysis **12**months: the window that defines an early leaver **2**lenses: exit records and the engagement survey **1**definition for every country, tracked monthly Snapshot Client A life sciences company (anonymised) Sector, size, geography Private Sector; 5,000–10,000 staff; headquartered in Europe, with operations worldwide Engagement People Centricity · Engage Our role Led the new-hire attrition analysis for the global talent acquisition team — HR records across 69 sites, breakdowns by tenure, site, month and reason, engagement cross-check, input to the KPI definition and recommendations; KPI build and onboarding actions by the client Mode of engagement Led Timeframe 2022 Project duration 1–3 months · 4 steps: separate the signal, find where and when, test the reasons, make it a measure; KPI build and onboarding actions by the client The situation ## The question behind *the question.* This company had put new-hire attrition on its group scorecard, one of only 2 people measures there, and its new [talent acquisition strategy](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/talent-acquisition-strategy-and-roadmap-at-a-life-sciences-company) made it one of its first initiatives. Each early leaver is a hire paid for twice: the search, then the replacement, and the months before a newcomer is fully productive. The company had a rate. It did not yet know where early leavers came from, when in their first year they left, or why, nor whether the problem was hiring, onboarding or local. As it was asked “Tell us why our new hires are leaving.” As we reframed it Treat first-year attrition as a result of how people are hired and welcomed: find where and when it happens, test whether the reasons recorded can be acted on, and turn the answer into a measure the business tracks. How we worked ## How the work *unfolded.* 01 ### Separate the signal We started by separating early leavers from everyone else. 3½ years of terminations from the HR system, across 69 sites, were split by type, tenure, month, site and reason, so first-year departures could be read against all voluntary leavers rather than buried inside them. The comparison changed the question: a turnover rate that looked stable overall can hide a first year that is not. 02 ### Find where and when Then the concentration. Early leavers were mapped by site and by the point in their first year at which they left, and profiled by role for each reason they gave. The aim was to turn one company-wide rate into local questions for each site leader to own, and to see whether people left in the first weeks, when onboarding is at stake, or later, when the job itself is. 03 ### Test the reasons Then the reasons, tested for one thing: could anyone act on them? Each exit reason was read by site and role, and catch-all categories that point to no fix were set apart from those that do. The engagement survey’s view of new joiners was laid alongside. An annual survey is too slow for a 12-month window, so the leading signal had to come from somewhere else: conversations with new joiners while they are still deciding. 04 ### Make it a measure Then the measure. Leavers were counted against the new hires of the period, not against average headcount, so the rate shows what share of a hiring class did not stay rather than moving with hiring volume. One formula, a 12-month window, monthly on the HR scorecard and the [recruiting dashboard](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/talent-acquisition-kpis-at-a-life-sciences-company), owned by talent acquisition. We recommended exit reason codes that point to a cause, check-ins at 30 and 90 days as the leading signal, and reading early attrition as the quality test of the [new assessment approach](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/candidate-assessment-methods-at-a-life-sciences-company). The instrument ### A first-year leaver, read 3 ways **Against the rest.** First-year leavers as a share of all voluntary leavers, with their own trend, so a stable overall rate cannot hide a rising early one. **Where and when.** By site, and by the point in the first year when people leave: the first weeks point to onboarding, later months to the job. **Why, if actionable.** Each recorded reason tested for whether it points to a fix. A reason nobody can act on is a gap in the data, not an answer. Every hire comes with a 12-month warranty; early attrition is the claim rate. Read it as one, and it tells you what to fix before the next hire. What moved ## What changed, *and what didn't.* **1 in 5**voluntary leavers had left within their first year, while overall attrition stayed flat Evidence Decision taken Adopted in practice Measured impact What moved **1 in 5** voluntary leavers had left within their first year, while overall attrition stayed flat. New-hire attrition is now tracked monthly on the HR scorecard and the recruiting dashboard, defined once for every country, and read alongside how people were assessed and welcomed. What didn't move The analysis was descriptive and covered voluntary leavers only: failed probations, the signal of a selection problem, stayed in the backlog, and recruiter, hiring source and hiring manager were not yet linked to who left. Reasons recorded before the codes were redesigned could not be recovered, and whether the check-ins lowered early attrition was beyond what we saw. What we'd say to a peer Every hire comes with a 12-month warranty, and early attrition is the claim rate. Separate it from the rest of your turnover, count it against the hiring class, find where and when it happens, and test whether the reasons you record could ever be acted on. Then pair it with an early signal, and read it next to how those people were hired. [Let's talk](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/work-with-us) [Discover People Centricity](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/people-centricity) [Read more cases](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) **Method note:** Own approach in 4 steps; 3½ years of HR records across 69 sites; tenure, site, month and reason breakdowns; engagement cross-check; cohort-based KPI definition. ## Keep reading [![Same KPI Name, Different Clock](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/hs-fs/hubfs/social-sharing/cases/case-talent-acquisition-kpis-at-a-life-sciences-company.jpg?width=300&name=case-talent-acquisition-kpis-at-a-life-sciences-company.jpg)](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/talent-acquisition-kpis-at-a-life-sciences-company) ###### [Our Work,](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work)[Case Study](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) ##### [Same KPI Name, Different Clock](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/talent-acquisition-kpis-at-a-life-sciences-company) [Tanguy Dulac](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/about-us) [Read More](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/talent-acquisition-kpis-at-a-life-sciences-company) [![Treat Hiring Managers as Customers: A Recruiting Strategy](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/hs-fs/hubfs/social-sharing/cases/case-talent-acquisition-strategy-and-roadmap-at-a-life-sciences-company.jpg?width=300&name=case-talent-acquisition-strategy-and-roadmap-at-a-life-sciences-company.jpg)](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/talent-acquisition-strategy-and-roadmap-at-a-life-sciences-company) ###### [Our Work,](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work)[Case Study](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) ##### [Treat Hiring Managers as Customers: A Recruiting Strategy](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/talent-acquisition-strategy-and-roadmap-at-a-life-sciences-company) [Tanguy Dulac](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/about-us) [Read More](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/talent-acquisition-strategy-and-roadmap-at-a-life-sciences-company) [![Say, Do, Say They Do: Measuring Inclusion](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/hs-fs/hubfs/social-sharing/cases/case-inclusion-and-well-being-diagnostic-at-a-luxury-group.jpg?width=300&name=case-inclusion-and-well-being-diagnostic-at-a-luxury-group.jpg)](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/inclusion-and-well-being-diagnostic-at-a-luxury-group) ###### [Our Work,](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work)[Case Study](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) ##### [Say, Do, Say They Do: Measuring Inclusion](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/inclusion-and-well-being-diagnostic-at-a-luxury-group) [Tanguy Dulac](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/about-us) [Read More](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/inclusion-and-well-being-diagnostic-at-a-luxury-group) WeAreHuman@Work One piece of evidence on sustainable work, every Sunday. 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