Step 1: Find out where turnover is actually happening
A citywide turnover rate hides more than it shows. Break separations down by department, job family, supervisor, shift and years of service. Early-tenure losses usually point to hiring fit, onboarding or first-line supervision. Mid-career losses often point to workload, advancement or competing offers. Retirements are predictable and should be planned for, not counted with voluntary exits.
Separate voluntary resignations from retirements, terminations and transfers. Only voluntary resignations are fully within the organization's influence, and that is where retention effort pays back fastest.
Step 2: Understand why people leave
Exit interviews help, but they arrive after the decision is made and people are often polite on the way out. Stay interviews, short anonymous check-ins and conversations with first-line supervisors surface the same issues while there is still time to respond.
- Supervision and trust in leadership
- Workload, overtime and schedule predictability
- Pay and benefits relative to nearby employers
- Career growth and clear paths to promotion
- Stress, health and access to support
- Feeling that concerns are heard and acted on
Step 3: Pull the levers you control
Supervisors
Supervisors shape daily experience more than any policy. Give them training, time to lead and a regular read on how their teams are doing.
Total rewards, not just salary
When budgets limit raises, benefits, scheduling flexibility, tuition support and health resources can close part of the gap. Make sure employees understand what they already have — many underuse benefits they value.
Visible follow-through
Asking for feedback and doing nothing with it erodes trust faster than not asking. Share what you heard and what will change, even if the change is small.
Step 4: Measure early, not only at the exit
Turnover rate is a lagging indicator: by the time it moves, the people are gone. Pair it with leading indicators such as engagement and morale trends, overtime concentration, sick-leave patterns and internal transfer requests. Our guide to workforce metrics explains how to build a small, useful dashboard.
Where Frontline fits
Frontline approaches retention from both sides. 360 Advantage gives employees personalized physical and mental health support, and Frontline Pulse gives leadership an earlier view of morale, trust and engagement across departments. For cities, that means one program that can run in a single department or across the broader municipal workforce.
Frontline's planning model uses national benchmarks: an 8% annual turnover rate, about $70,000 per departure, and a 2.7% retention improvement, plus Section 125 savings of about $1,230 per participating employee per year.
Common questions
- What is a good employee turnover rate for a city?
- There is no single target that fits every city. Compare your rate to your own history, to similar-sized jurisdictions in your region and across departments, and focus on voluntary turnover, which you can most influence.
- Can a city reduce turnover without raising salaries?
- Pay is important, but it is rarely the only factor. Supervision, workload, schedules, recognition, benefits and access to support all influence whether people stay, and many can be improved within existing budgets.
Sources and further reading
Retention doesn't start when someone resigns.
Learn how Frontline helps public safety organizations support their people and identify workforce concerns earlier.