How Benchmarking Helped a PE Portfolio Company Reduce Turnover by 56%

Employee turnover is one of the fastest ways to lose momentum in a private equity-backed business. Every time someone walks out, you lose skills, focus, and time. In short, turnover eats directly into growth and profitability, both of which are very important in the world of PE.

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In this case, a mid-sized portfolio company called Brightline was facing turnover rates that were almost double the industry average. They were investing heavily in hiring, but struggling to keep people. The leadership team knew they had a problem, but they didn’t know why it was happening or how bad it really was compared to others in their space.

That is where benchmarking came in. By comparing their data with external benchmarks, they could finally see the real story behind their turnover.

Using Benchmarking to Uncover the Root Causes

Benchmarking answers a simple but powerful question: What does good look like?

When this company compared its numbers against similar businesses in the same sector, a few things became clear.

• At 21%, their turnover was more than double the industry benchmark average of 9%.
• Voluntary exits were concentrated in two key functions: Sales and Operations.
• Exit interviews pointed to overwork and unclear career paths, not just pay.

To make things worse, their managers had more direct reports than the benchmark average, which made coaching and development harder - Benchmark your span of control here.

These insights shifted the conversation from guesswork to facts. The data showed that pay alone was not the problem. Instead, structure, workload, and manager capability were driving people to leave. Once the leadership team saw this, they stopped chasing generic retention programs and started focusing on the few things that mattered most.

Turning Insights into Action

Having the right data means nothing without taking action. The company used the benchmarking results as a blueprint for change.

They started with these three moves:

1. Redesigning team structures. They reduced manager span of control to make leadership more effective.
2. Adjusting pay bands where needed. Compensation was brought closer to market benchmarks, but only in roles where turnover risk was highest.
3. Investing in manager training. With smaller teams, leaders could spend more time developing their people.

The question they kept asking was “How do we know which changes will make the biggest impact?”

The answer was always the same: test changes, measure the data again, and compare it to the benchmark. They started to see real progress over six months, but the best results came after one year.

The Result: A 56% Drop in Turnover and Lasting Lessons

Within a year, turnover fell to 9.7% (that’s a huge drop of 56%, and in line with the benchmark average)! The biggest improvements came in the functions that had the highest risk at the start. The company also saw higher engagement scores and shorter hiring cycles from their initiatives.

Here’s what other HR and PE leaders can take away:

• Benchmarking provides a reality check. It shows where your problems are compared to peers.
• Focus your retention efforts where the data tells you to, not where opinions point.
• Keep benchmarking over time. You cannot improve what you do not measure.

By using benchmarking as a continuous tool, not a one-time project, this portfolio company turned people data into a real advantage. The result was not just lower turnover but a stronger, more focused business ready to deliver on its growth plan.

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