Employee Engagement ROI Calculator
Quantify the business impact of investing in employee engagement. See how reducing turnover translates into real savings for your organization.
U.S. average voluntary turnover is ~20-25%
Engaged companies see 25-65% lower turnover (Gallup)
For every $1 invested, you save
$20.8
1,983.3% return on investment
Current Annual Turnover Cost
20 departures x $25,000 replacement cost
$500,000
Employees Retained Per Year
Saved from voluntary departure
5
Annual Savings from Reduced Turnover
5 retained x $25,000 per employee
$125,000
Cost of Unmatched
100 employees x $5/mo x 12 months (Intelligence plan)
$6,000
Net Annual Savings
Total savings minus software cost
$119,000
Payback Period
Less than 1 month
Calculations use a conservative 50% of salary as replacement cost. Actual costs may be higher (50-200% is the industry range). Savings do not include additional benefits like improved productivity and reduced absenteeism.
Understanding Engagement ROI
Employee engagement is not just a feel-good initiative -- it is a measurable business strategy with real financial impact. Research consistently shows that organizations with highly engaged workforces outperform their peers across virtually every business metric. According to Gallup, companies in the top quartile of employee engagement see 23% higher profitability, 18% higher productivity, and 81% lower absenteeism compared to those in the bottom quartile.
The most significant financial impact of engagement comes from reduced turnover. Replacing an employee costs between 50% and 200% of their annual salary when you factor in recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, and the productivity ramp-up period. For specialized or senior roles, that number can climb even higher. With the average U.S. voluntary turnover rate hovering around 20-25%, even a modest improvement in retention can translate into substantial savings.
Beyond turnover, engaged employees drive value through higher customer satisfaction scores, fewer safety incidents, better quality of work, and stronger innovation. These benefits compound over time, creating a virtuous cycle where engagement drives performance, which in turn drives engagement.
Key Metrics Affected by Employee Engagement
Employee Turnover
25-65% lower
Engaged organizations experience significantly lower voluntary turnover, reducing the massive costs associated with replacing departing employees.
Absenteeism
81% lower
Engaged employees show up more consistently. Lower absenteeism means better team continuity, fewer coverage gaps, and higher daily productivity.
Productivity
18% higher
Engaged teams produce more and better work. They take more initiative, collaborate more effectively, and go beyond minimum requirements.
Profitability
23% higher
The cumulative effect of lower turnover, less absenteeism, and higher productivity flows directly to the bottom line in measurable ways.
Source: Gallup State of the Global Workplace report
Building a Business Case for Engagement Software
When making the case for engagement software to leadership, you need to speak the language of business outcomes. Start by quantifying your current turnover costs using the calculator above -- this gives you a concrete baseline. Then, build your case around three pillars:
- Quantify the cost of inaction. Calculate what turnover, absenteeism, and disengagement are costing your organization today. Use industry benchmarks where you lack internal data. Most leaders are surprised by the true cost of doing nothing.
- Model conservative outcomes. Use the lower end of engagement improvement ranges when projecting ROI. A conservative projection that is later exceeded builds more credibility than an optimistic one that falls short. Even a 15% reduction in turnover typically delivers a strong ROI.
- Include qualitative benefits. Beyond the numbers, highlight benefits that are harder to quantify but equally important: better employer brand, stronger culture, improved innovation, and faster ability to detect and address problems before they escalate.
How Unmatched Delivers Measurable ROI
Unmatched is designed from the ground up to deliver measurable return on your engagement investment. By connecting employee surveys, performance reviews, 360 feedback, and well-being data into a single intelligent platform, Unmatched gives you a complete picture of your workforce health -- not just isolated snapshots.
Our AI-powered analytics identify turnover risks before employees leave, surface the root causes of disengagement across teams and departments, and automatically prioritize the actions that will have the highest impact. Instead of guessing where to invest, you get data-driven recommendations that maximize your ROI.
With continuous tracking, Unmatched lets you measure the impact of every initiative over time, so you can double down on what works and course-correct quickly when something does not. This creates a continuous improvement loop that compounds your engagement gains year after year.
Start Measuring Your Engagement ROI
See exactly how engagement drives your bottom line. Unmatched gives you the data, insights, and actions to maximize your people investment.