What Does an Engineering Hire
Actually Cost?
Most hiring decisions focus on salary. The bigger number is what happens when a placement fails — or churns at 12 months. This calculator shows the full picture most companies never see.
Your Role Details
Enter your own numbers. We don't suggest what salaries should be.
Enter the total annual compensation you'd pay for this role.
How long before a new hire is fully productive in your environment?
Longer time-to-hire = more weeks the seat is empty.
Enter an annual salary to see your numbers.
Cost of a failed placement
—
Industry average cost of a failed hire (1.5–2× annual salary, midpoint 1.75×). Source: SHRM, Harvard Business Review, Deloitte talent research.
Productivity lost during ramp
—
Salary-equivalent lost to ramp period.
Cost of the open seat
—
Salary-equivalent of unfilled weeks.
3-Year Expected Cost Comparison
Industry average (70% retention)
—
Expected value includes a 30% chance of a failed placement each year, compounded over 3 years — the industry average attrition rate from Deloitte and LinkedIn Talent data.
With Decode Talent (95% retention)
—
Expected value with a 5% chance of a failed placement — our actual 12-month retention rate. Lower expected churn means dramatically lower total cost over time.
Difference over 3 years
—
The expected savings from placing with a high-retention partner vs. industry-average attrition.
Methodology
The 1.5–2× annual salary figure for a failed hire is widely cited in talent research from SHRM, Harvard Business Review, and Deloitte. It accounts for recruiting fees, lost productivity, manager time, onboarding cost, team disruption, and the cost of restarting the search. We use 1.75× as the midpoint. The 30% industry attrition rate for software engineers at the 12-month mark is drawn from LinkedIn Talent Trends and Deloitte human capital benchmarks. Decode Talent's 95% 12-month retention is our actual internal placement data.
What This Calculator Is Really Showing
It's not about finding the cheapest hire.
Every dollar saved on a placement fee or salary is irrelevant if the hire churns at month eight. The real cost question isn't "how do I spend less to fill this seat?" — it's "how do I avoid filling this seat twice?" A failed engineering hire doesn't just cost money. It costs team morale, roadmap momentum, and six months of accumulated context that walks out the door.
Retention is the ROI.
The compounding value of a hire who stays isn't dramatic in month one. It shows up at month fourteen, when they're the person who remembers why a decision was made and can explain it to the next engineer who joins. Deep institutional knowledge, genuine ownership, and compounding productivity — these only happen with engineers who stay. That's why our vetting process optimizes for fit, not throughput.
The numbers above are conservative.
The 1.75× multiplier for a failed hire doesn't include the harder-to-quantify costs: the engineering manager who spent 20% of their quarter on a hire that didn't work, the features that slipped, the team that watched it happen. Real-world estimates from companies who've tracked this carefully often land north of 2×. We use the conservative industry benchmark because the point isn't to alarm — it's to show that placement quality and retention are the most leveraged decisions in your hiring budget.
The Bottom Line
These numbers only work if the placement is right the first time.
Every metric on this page improves when the hire sticks. Founder-led vetting, a curated network, and a 90-day replacement guarantee are how we make that happen.
Schedule a Discovery Call