Benchmark results by misconduct type
Different types of misconduct surface through different reporting routes, and these patterns are clearly visible in the global dataset.
HR‑related issues – particularly those that feel personal or emotionally charged – are more likely to be raised via the phone, while more procedural or compliance‑focused concerns typically come through the web portal, which now accounts for 71% of all reports.
Phone reporting remains especially prominent for sensitive cases such as victimisation, harassment and bullying, where employees often prefer the reassurance of a human conversation. These differences underline why understanding misconduct type is essential: the nature of the issue strongly shapes how people choose to speak up, and therefore how organisations need to design and promote their reporting channels
Misconduct-driven reporting patterns
1. Reporting channel use by misconduct type
Across the dataset, the global reporting blend is 6% email, 23% phone and 71% web. Against this baseline, clear differences emerge by misconduct type.
HR reports show the highest phone use of any headline category at 27%, driven by sub‑categories such as victimisation, where phone reporting reaches 52%, and harassment, where it stands at 30%.
Dishonest behaviour aligns more closely with the global pattern overall (21% phone, 71% web), but individual sub‑categories vary: theft reports, for example, include a notably higher phone share at 37%, substantially above the category and global averages.
General issues show the highest reliance on web reporting at 81%, the largest proportion of any category, with sub‑categories such as corporate governance (88%) and reputation (79%) reinforcing this digital profile.
Health & Safety reports also skew towards digital channels (74% web), though phone use rises to 24% for general safety and 25% for product contamination, both above the global average.
Taken together, these differences show that some categories – particularly HR and specific sub‑categories within dishonest behaviour – record meaningfully higher phone use than the overall dataset, while general issues remain the most consistently web‑led.
Channel mix by misconduct category
| Phone | Web | ||
| Dishonest Behaviour | 8% | 21% | 71% |
| General | 6% | 13% | 81% |
| Health and Safety | 4% | 22% | 74% |
| Human Resource | 6% | 27% | 67% |
Channel mix by misconduct sub-category: dishonest behaviour
| Phone | Web | ||
| Bribery | 6% | 19% | 75% |
| Corruption | 24% | 22% | 54% |
| Fraud | 8% | 24% | 68% |
| Integrity | 7% | 15% | 78% |
| Money laundering | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| Theft | 5% | 37% | 58% |
Channel mix by misconduct sub-category: general
| Phone | Web | ||
| Corporate governance | 12% | 0% | 88% |
| Data protection | 0% | 20% | 80% |
| Environmental | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| Failure to act on previous report | 17% | 0% | 83% |
| Policy | 3% | 19% | 78% |
| Regulatory compliance | 8% | 13% | 79% |
| Reputation | 9% | 12% | 79% |
| Safeguarding | 0% | 20% | 80% |
Channel mix by misconduct sub-category: Health & Safety
| Phone | Web | ||
| General safety | 4% | 24% | 72% |
| Product contamination | 0% | 25% | 75% |
| Substance abuse | 6% | 15% | 79% |
Channel mix by misconduct sub-category: HR
| Phone | Web | ||
| Bullying | 4% | 28% | 68% |
| Discrimination | 5% | 28% | 67% |
| Harassment | 4% | 30% | 66% |
| Modern slavery | 50% | 0% | 50% |
| Racism | 2% | 28% | 70% |
| Unfair treatment | 8% | 27% | 65% |
| Victimisation | 6% | 52% | 42% |
2. Identity choices by misconduct type
Across all reports, the global identity split is 56% anonymous, 25% named and 19% semi‑anonymous. Against this baseline, the four misconduct categories show distinct patterns.
Health & Safety reports have the highest anonymous share at 67%, noticeably above the global average, with sub‑categories such as substance abuse reaching 86%.
Dishonest Behaviour sits close to the overall profile at 63% anonymous and 17% named, although some sub‑categories differ: 44% of bribery reports are named, well above the dataset average, while fraud reports show 30% named, also higher than typical levels.
General issues remain broadly aligned with the global pattern (55% anonymous, 28% named), with variation at sub‑category level – for example, 67% of failure to act on a previous report concerns are named.
HR reports show the lowest anonymity rate of the four categories at 52%, and the highest named share at 29%, with particular sub‑categories standing out: victimisation reports are 55% named, unfair treatment 29%, and harassment 35%, one of the highest proportions within the HR category.
These differences show that while the overall identity split is relatively balanced, several categories and sub‑categories record higher‑than‑average named reporting.
Identity choices by misconduct type
| Anonymous | Semi-anonymous | Named | |
| Dishonest Behaviour | 63% | 20% | 17% |
| General | 55% | 17% | 28% |
| Health and Safety | 67% | 16% | 17% |
| Human Resource | 52% | 19% | 29% |
Identity choices by misconduct sub-category: dishonest behaviour
| Anonymous | Semi-anonymous | Named | |
| Bribery | 56% | 0% | 44% |
| Corruption | 59% | 28% | 13% |
| Fraud | 54% | 16% | 30% |
| Integrity | 66% | 22% | 12% |
| Money laundering | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Theft | 68% | 18% | 14% |
Identity choices by misconduct sub-category: general
| Anonymous | Semi-anonymous | Named | |
| Corporate governance | 67% | 25% | 8% |
| Data protection | 57% | 14% | 29% |
| Environmental | 65% | 6% | 29% |
| Failure to act on previous report | 0% | 33% | 67% |
| Policy | 64% | 19% | 17% |
| Regulatory compliance | 56% | 21% | 23% |
| Reputation | 55% | 18% | 27% |
| Safeguarding | 87% | 6% | 7% |
Identity choices by misconduct sub-category: health & Safety
| Anonymous | Semi-anonymous | Named | |
| General safety | 62% | 17% | 21% |
| Product contamination | 64% | 18% | 18% |
| Substance abuse | 86% | 11% | 3% |
Identity choices by misconduct sub-category: HR
| Anonymous | Semi-anonymous | Named | |
| Bullying | 59% | 17% | 24% |
| Discrimination | 56% | 21% | 23% |
| Harassment | 46% | 19% | 35% |
| Modern slavery | 0% | 50% | 50% |
| Racism | 61% | 16% | 23% |
| Unfair treatment | 51% | 20% | 29% |
| Victimisation | 32% | 13% | 55% |
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