This is an historical index of staff turnover used in H.R. for several reasons, among which the planning of retirement benefits, training activities, etc. The turnover itself includes, but does not necessarily solely account for employees who leave of their own (quit, retire or are forced to retire due to disability).

Physical" derives from the fact that, from a corporate logistics standpoint, "Human Resources" are "assets" just like inventory, as explained in this webpage about HR metrics:

http://www.pwc.com/us/en/hr-saratoga/index.jhtml
"The most successful organizations manage their human capital as a strategic asset by aligning the workforce with organizational strategies and using metrics and measurement to drive decisions, monitor performance, and improve results."

If you think about "physical inventory" and "inventory (or stock) turnover", the picture becomes much clearer, and in this respect, H.R. departments are in charge of the "human inventory", forecasting and planning the "supply and demand"pursuant to the business objectives of the company.

Here's other links for you

[PDF] LSU Agricultural Center POLICY ON OPTIONAL PAY ADJUSTMENTS FOR ...File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View
Due to cost factors, this provision cannot be used to address routine turnover. The maximum increase that an employee may receive in a fiscal year is 10%. ...
text.lsuagcenter.com/...93EF.../Optional-Pay-Adjustment-Policy.pdf
[PDF] Part I Section 411. ----Minimum Vesting Standards 26 CFR 1.411(d ...File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View
employees to benefits accrued to the date of such partial termination, to the .... employer's business locations (and not as a result of routine turnover). ...
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-07-43.pdf

[PDF] Client AdvisoryFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View
A turnover rate can be shown to be routine by showing information about the turnover rate in other periods, the extent to which terminated employees were ...
www.shermanhoward.com/docs/news/Odel76ca.pdf

[DOC] Number of Employees in this company at this location________File Format: Microsoft Word - View as HTML
Routine. Teamwork vs. Independence Repetition vs. Variability. Rate of employee turnover (annual percentage): Overall_______ This position_______ ...
www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/sped/.../III.../27SiteAssessmentFor...

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Attrition
A factor, normally expressed as a percentage, reflecting the degree of losses of personnel or materiel due to various causes within a specified period of time.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

This is a link to a google book..really worth looking at, since it explains how the calculations are done

Personnel practice - Google Books Resultby Malcolm Martin, Tricia Jackson - 2002 - Business & Economics - 276 pages
An easier source of demand to manage is that resulting from the routine turnover of employees or the 'attrition rate'. lf this is steady then it provides a ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=0852929412...



Also known as "routine turnover rate"