Employment Verification Failure Rates: Causes and Solutions
Employment verification often "fails" not because of bad data, but because references don't respond. Incomplete verifications create risk—you're making hiring decisions without full information. When verification fails, you're left with a choice: hire without complete verification (risky) or delay the offer (lose the candidate). This guide covers the causes of verification failure and practical solutions to improve success rates.
Causes of Verification Failure
References are busy—HR departments handle dozens of requests; managers have other priorities. Wrong contact info—people change jobs, numbers change. Company policy limits—some employers only verify via written request or through specific channels. Time zone mismatches for international verification—you call during their night. One-and-done outreach—no follow-up when the first attempt fails. Single-channel outreach—email alone gets low response rates, often 20-30%. The causes are mostly about reach and persistence, not data quality. The candidate's information may be fine; you just can't get anyone to confirm it.
Solutions That Work
Multi-channel outreach: email + WhatsApp + voice. Different people respond to different channels. WhatsApp often gets higher response rates internationally. Voice reaches people who don't check email. Multiple contact attempts—one try isn't enough. Finding alternative contacts: if the direct manager doesn't respond, try HR. If HR is slow, try a different department. Persistence—follow up. AI automates all of this: trying multiple channels, following up automatically, finding alternative contacts. The result: higher completion rates. What used to "fail" now completes.
True Probe's Approach
True Probe's AI agents try multiple channels and contacts, follow up automatically, and achieve high completion rates—turning "failed" verifications into successful ones. The fix is persistence and channel diversity; AI delivers both. When manual verification fails, automation often succeeds.
