If you work in employee relations at a large healthcare or hospital system, you already know: The stakes are different here.
Every issue that lands on your desk has the potential to impact not just employees, but patients, care quality and compliance outcomes. And lately, those issues are becoming harder to manage.
Cases are more layered. Volumes are rising. And the underlying causes, from burnout to behavioral health concerns to shifting workforce expectations, aren’t simple to untangle. That’s why our Large Healthcare and Hospital Systems Industry Report (an excerpt from the Ninth Annual Employee Relations Benchmark Study) couldn’t come at a better time.
It’s more than a snapshot. It’s a mirror — showing where healthcare ER teams are making progress, where challenges are compounding and what data leaders need to drive strategy, secure resources and protect their organizations.
Let’s dive deeper.
Complexity Is the New Normal
Ask any ER leader in healthcare what’s changed, and you’ll likely hear the same thing: “Cases just aren’t straightforward anymore.”
Layered Cases and Rising Complexity
A single case might involve a performance concern with a mental health component, an interpersonal dispute and a potential compliance risk — all unfolding in an environment where staffing is tight and patient outcomes are on the line.
Our data backs that up. Larger healthcare & hospital systems saw increases across nearly every issue category, from unprofessional conduct to discrimination and retaliation. The volume is up — and so is the complexity.
That combination is stretching teams thin. And over half of organizations in this sector attribute the surge to unprofessional conduct, policy violations, accommodation requests and mental health issues. Yet this alone doesn’t provide a clear picture of the downstream impact or offer insights into where ER leaders should focus next — leaving them reacting instead of leading.
Without Insights, Strategy Flatlines
I always say you can’t manage what you can’t measure.
Too often, healthcare organizations are rich in data but poor in insight. They’re tracking cases, but not analyzing how issues intersect, how workloads evolve or where risk is intensifying.
And that matters — because when cases are layered and volumes rise, leaders need more than instinct to make decisions. They need data to:
Key Uses of Data for ER Leaders
- Justify staffing and resource needs with evidence, not anecdotes
- Spot systemic issues before they escalate into reputational or compliance risks
- Support managers and frontline staff with targeted training
- Prove consistency and compliance across every facility and specialty
Without this visibility, employee relations teams can’t operate proactively. They’re constantly triaging — when what they really need is to be diagnosing.
Turning Data into Direction
The good news? Healthcare ER teams are making strides. Many have centralized their case management processes, adopted consistent documentation practices (thanks to the help of HR case management platforms like HR Acuity) and started tracking key metrics that strengthen compliance and accountability.
But our report shows there’s still untapped opportunity — especially when it comes to drilling into outcomes by issue type to determine patterns that impact turnover, morale and employee experience.
Questions Data Can Answer
- What’s driving the rise in unprofessional conduct?
- Are burnout and staffing pressures fueling behavioral issues?
- Are certain facilities, departments or shifts showing patterns worth intervention?
Those are the questions data can answer — and the insights that can transform employee relations from a reactive support function into a proactive, strategic partner in patient care and organizational health.
Lead With Insight, Not Instinct
Employee relations in healthcare is unlike any other industry. The pace, the pressure and the human impact are immense. But that also means the potential for data-driven leadership is even greater.
By using insights to connect the dots between case complexity, root causes and outcomes, ER teams can:
Key Outcomes for ER Teams
- Protect their organizations from legal and reputational risk
- Strengthen trust and transparency across clinical and administrative teams
- Build healthier, safer workplaces — for employees and patients alike
Get the Full Picture with HR Acuity’s Large Healthcare and Hospital Systems Industry Report
The challenges healthcare ER leaders face today aren’t going away — but with the right insights, you can meet them head-on.
Our Large Healthcare and Hospital Systems Industry Report breaks down the trends shaping the industry, offers benchmarks for comparison and provides actionable ideas to help you lead with confidence.
Because in healthcare, every case counts — and every insight does too.
