Handbook of Organization Measurement
New-Hire / First-Year Retention
construct.new_hire_retention
§1How it’s measured
This is a behavioral construct — an event recorded in HR systems, not a self-report. It is measured as an operational metric with a formula, not a questionnaire; a Likert scale here would be a category error.
The percentage of hires who quit or are terminated within their first year.
(Hires who left <12 months / Total hires in that cohort) x 100 · percentageShare of new hires who leave within their first year.
new-hire separations <12mo / new hires · rateThe rate at which recently hired employees leave within an early-tenure window.
(New hires leaving within timeframe ÷ New hires in period) × 100 · percentageShare of employees retained over a period (inverse of attrition).
1 - (separations / starting headcount) · rate§3The math on what we know
Synthesized priors from the live registry: pooled r, studies (k), total N, top study grade, and heterogeneity. Rows flagged for heterogeneity or single-study evidence are directional, not settled — read them as a central tendency.
What drives new-hire / first-year retention
| Predictor | r | k | N | Grade | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Met Expectations | +0.19 | 1 | 50 | A | single study |
| Realistic Job Preview | +0.04 | 1 | 17,230 | A | single study |