Manual vs. Automated Employment Verification: ROI Calculator

What's the real cost of manual employment verification? And what do you save with automation? The ROI of switching to automated verification is often immediate—but it's not always obvious until you run the numbers. This guide provides an ROI calculator framework: the costs of manual verification, the savings from automation, and how to quantify the decision.

Manual Verification Costs

HR time: 5-10 hours per verification at $50/hr = $250-500 per verification. At 50 verifications per year, that's $12,500-25,000. Lost candidates: Industry data suggests 1 in 5 candidates accept elsewhere during verification wait. The cost of replacing a lost hire: 50-200% of annual salary. One lost senior hire at $100K = $50,000-200,000. Vendor fees: If outsourced, $100-200 per verification. Delayed time-to-hire: Longer vacancy = lost productivity. Every week of delay has a cost.

Automated Verification Savings

HR time: Near zero. Verification runs in the background. Per-verification cost: $70-100 with AI-powered platforms—40% lower than traditional vendors. Candidate retention: 1-3 day turnaround minimizes drop-off. Faster hiring: Reduced vacancy cost. The savings compound.

ROI Example

50 verifications per year. Manual: $12,500-25,000 in HR time + $10,000-20,000 in vendor fees = $22,500-45,000. Plus candidate loss (conservatively 2-3 lost hires = $20,000-60,000). Total: $42,500-105,000. Automated: $3,500-5,000 in platform cost. Minimal candidate loss. Total: ~$5,000. Payback is immediate. True Probe's AI automation delivers this ROI from day one.

Key Takeaways

Manual verification has hidden costs: HR time, lost candidates, delayed hiring. Automation reduces cost and improves speed. Run the numbers for your volume. For most companies verifying 20+ candidates per year, the ROI of automation is clear.