Information about turnover, profit margins, and staff quality is used to identify company strengths and weaknesses within a SWOT analysis.

Where these factors fit in SWOT

In SWOT, strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external. Turnover, profit margins, and staff quality all describe what is happening inside the business, so they belong on the internal side of the SWOT.

  • Turnover (staff leaving rates) shows whether the business has a stable, committed workforce (strength) or high, costly churn (weakness).
  • Profit margins indicate financial efficiency; strong margins are a strength, weak margins a weakness.
  • Staff quality reflects internal capabilities, skills, and expertise, which are classic internal strengths or weaknesses in SWOT.

So, when exam-style questions ask:

“When conducting a SWOT analysis, information about turnover, profit margins, and staff quality can be used to…”

…the correct completion is:

“…identify company strengths and weaknesses.”

TL;DR: These data points are internal metrics, so they help you assess the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, not opportunities or threats.