The Benchmark Study is the most trusted research in employee relations, covering more than 8 million employees
NEW YORK, June 12, 2025 -- HR Acuity, the enterprise leader in employee relations (ER) case management and investigations software, released its Ninth Annual Employee Relations Benchmark Study—equipping organizations with the insights and actions they need to stay ahead of rising workplace risk. The study, based on data from 284 organizations and 8.7 million employees globally, underscores the urgent need for organizations to adopt proactive, data-driven employee relations strategies to deliver better business outcomes and improve employee experience.
Misconduct and retaliation rise to a record high underscoring the need to prioritize data-driven trend reporting to combat rising claims.
The findings show that discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims reached 14.7 issues per 1,000 employees in 2024, the highest level in the history of the Study. With ongoing regulatory changes and interpersonal conflicts intensifying in the workplace, employee relations teams must prioritize trend reporting across issue categories, departments and locations to address and prevent future issues.
The high volume of misconduct claims calls for organizations to tighten their workplace investigation processes to ensure consistency, compliance and confidence in the process. Yet, one-third (32%) of organizations do not require the use of a structured investigation process leaving them exposed to legal, financial and reputational risks.
Data blind spots undermine strategic decisions and leave organizations vulnerable to risk.
Sixty-eight percent of organizations fail to track the number of issues per case, creating blind spots in understanding case complexity and process effectiveness. Nearly half of organizations lack substantiation data, severely limiting visibility into outcomes, workplace culture and employee trust. The majority of organizations (70%) also do not have access to substantiation by issue type, further hampering the ability to identify trends, proactively manage issues and allocate resources effectively.
AI adoption in employee relations remains limited, despite the need to boost productivity.
Fewer than half (44%) of organizations are not yet using AI for employee relations and one-third of organizations are cautiously exploring capabilities and piloting projects to enhance employee relations processes. However, those with structured investigation processes are twice as likely to integrate AI, highlighting the role that foundational processes can play in effective and responsible AI implementation.
"Navigating today's complex workplace dynamics with rising misconduct claims, mounting regulatory pressures and legal risks demands more than intuition. Data and insights are no longer optional," said Deb Muller, founder and CEO of HR Acuity. "In this new era of employee relations, organizations must embrace AI-driven analytics and structured processes to protect their people, safeguard their reputations and empower their teams to thrive with confidence."
The Ninth Annual Employee Relations Benchmark Study is available here: https://www.hracuity.com/resources/research/employee-relations-benchmark-study/.
As a category-leading software as a service (SaaS) company, HR Acuity boasts a growing customer base, working with hundreds of leading enterprises, including LinkedIn, Lyft, and Verizon. HR Acuity is the founder of empowER™, a growing community of more than 7,000 employee relations, labor relations, human resources and compliance professionals. It is the creator of ER/Q, the first-ever maturity model for employee relations as well additional research, such as Rethinking Employee Experience: Four Critical Overlooked Moments.
About HR Acuity
While you can't prevent every employee relations issue, you can change how you respond. HR Acuity is the only technology platform specifically built for employee relations and investigations management. HR Acuity's SaaS technology empowers you with built in intelligence, templates and reporting so you can conduct fair investigations according to best practices; uncover trends and patterns through forward-looking data and analytics; and provide trusted, consistent experiences for your people.
For more information, visit hracuity.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
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