Can Large Language Model Predict Employee Attrition?

Abstract

Employee attrition poses significant costs for organizations, with traditional statistical prediction methods often struggling to capture modern workforce complexities. Machine learning (ML) advancements offer more scalable and accurate solutions, but large language models (LLMs) introduce new potential in human resource management by interpreting nuanced employee communication and detecting subtle turnover cues. This study leverages the IBM HR Analytics Attrition dataset to compare the predictive accuracy and interpretability of a fine-tuned GPT-3.5 model against traditional ML classifiers, including Logistic Regression, k-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision Tree, Random Forest, AdaBoost, and XGBoost. While traditional models are easier to use and interpret, LLMs can reveal deeper patterns in employee behavior. Our findings show that the fine-tuned GPT-3.5 model outperforms traditional methods with a precision of 0.91, recall of 0.94, and an F1-score of 0.92, while the best traditional model, SVM, achieved an F1-score of 0.82, with Random Forest and XGBoost reaching 0.80. These results highlight GPT-3.5's ability to capture complex patterns in attrition risk, offering organizations improved insights for retention strategies and underscoring the value of LLMs in HR applications.