What does the term attrition mean, and what are the biggest causes of employee attrition rates?

Attrition is the speed or rate at which something declines. In human resources, you may hear the term 'employee attrition rates' as an important KPI. This means that a company is losing staff due to natural reduction, including resignation, retirement, or relocation. As you answer this question, it is important to remember that this term refers to natural reduction. Employee attrition rates would not include mass layoffs, for instance. Discuss with the interviewer that you understand what attrition means and the primary causes of employee attrition. Your interviewer is ideally looking for your ability to recognize and understand their pain points.

"Employee attrition rates refer to staff reduction due to unforeseen or natural circumstances such as increasing retirement rates. I have helped my current company overcome attrition by working with them on proactive workforce planning. When a company sees where their employee attrition rates are going, they can act ahead and plan rather than being reactionary. While retirements are a great and rewarding aspect of attrition, I focus on employee turnover rates and long-term retention of staff to help keep attrition rates as low as possible. "