Learn more:
www.getaura.ai
Decoding Staff Turnover: A Deep-dive into the Tech Sector
A Newsletter from Aura Workforce Analytics
💡 Staff turnover in the tech sector continues to outpace other sectors as a result of economic challenges in recent years, with tech giants continuously making headlines with layoff announcements.
In this article, we looked at how turnover in the tech sector differs from other industries, as well as multiple deep-dives: turnover in the top 10 biggest companies, how exits differ in relation to tenure and gender, and which were the best and worst tech companies in 2023 in terms of staff retention.
10.6% Surge in Demand for AI Professionals over Mainstream Software jobs in H1 2023
The technology sector, a protagonist in an increasingly digitized world, attracts the spotlight when it comes to staff turnover trends. Leveraging Aura workforce data, we were able to analyze recent staff retention trends in the tech sector, which revealed an intriguing storyline, illuminating specific dynamics and undeniable quirks of the sector's landscape.
An Evolving Tech Turnover Trend
From 2019 to 2023, the tech industry's staff turnover trajectory gradually diverged from the norm in other sectors. Initially, the tech turnover rate was only marginally higher, resting at 1.02 times the overall industry standard for two consecutive years. However, 2021 saw a drastic change with the tech industry's turnover rate surging to 1.12 times the average. The gap that emerged continued in the following years, albeit slightly reduced, through 2022 and 2023, at 1.11 and 1.09 respectively.
One interesting trend is the rate's slight reduction over the past years, which could indicate either the start of a reversal or a temporary recess.
Tech Sector Outliers and Best Practices
While analyzing the tech sector, which stands out from other industries, we focused on examining the retention rates of various companies within this sector in 2023. Our findings have revealed some intriguing insights.
When looking at the entire tech landscape, we were able to identify companies with the highest share of employee exits relative to their size — lesser-known names like RippleMatch, Jellysmack, and Revature display very high turnover rates.
On the other hand, it is worth noting that some industry veterans like Xerox, YouTube, and Nvidia have demonstrated exceptional performance in terms of employee retention. Their ability to retain talent in the highly competitive tech industry is a testament to their effective strategies and positive work environments.
And how about the Top Tech Giants?
Upon examining the turnover rates of the top 10 tech corporations, a unique variance unfolds. In 2023, we saw staggering turnover rates at Meta and Amazon, standing at 17.5 and 15.7 times the sector average, respectively. Two companies with the lowest relative turnover, Apple and IBM, stood at 7.7 and 7.5 times the sector average, respectively — while still higher than the tech sector average, significantly lower than other companies on the list.
This divergence presents an interesting pattern and could signal differences within the top tech giants themselves. The wide range suggests that a company's position in the industry doesn't necessarily correlate with its staff turnover rate.
Tenure and Gender Under the Lens
When staff turnover gets broken downby tenure, it outlines further interesting patterns. The majority of exits occur among those with ten or more years of experience with Meta, Microsoft and Amazon leading with 71%, 66% and 49% respectively. This trend challenges the conventional notion associating higher tenure with better retention.
Coupling this with the gender perspective presents another dimension, where males constitute about 61% of exits across top tech firms — which could reflect the tech sector's general gender distribution rather than signaling disproportionate staff attrition.
To summarize, this in-depth investigation into the tech sector’s staff turnover reveals that layoffs within the sector continue to take place, more so than in the global economy, indicating the recent technological advancements in areas such as Generative AI continue to shake up the landscape.
At Aura, we support this type of analysis by making workforce data readily available, enabling comparison of relevant metrics between cohorts of companies & candidates to develop a deeper understanding of workforce trends and drive meaningful change.
Loved reading this? Subscribe to Aura's Newsletter and get the latest on workforce around the globe! Check https://getaura.ai
Abylay Jetmekov
Product Manager, Aura
Note: All information mentioned in this report comes from publicly available data; if you believe the information on your company is incorrect, please reach out to us at: aura@bain.com
Founded by Bain & Company in 2020, Aura is a workforce analytics platform consisting of over 10M companies, 950M working professionals, 20M skills, 400M jobs, daily updates, and easy reporting. Through a convenient monthly subscription service and with a track record of servicing hundreds of Bain & Company’s clients, Aura is your partner in understanding workforce-related topics, such as hiring patterns, retention, promotion, employee efficiency, diversity and inclusion. Experience the future of workforce analytics and unlock your competitive edge with Aura.
Decoding Staff Turnover: A Deep-dive into the Tech Sector
