What does it cost to outsource the handling of reports?
There is no fixed amount for outsourcing the handling of reports, because the costs depend on exactly what you outsource and to whom. Some employers only have an external party receive and register a report, while the assessment remains internal. Other employers also outsource the investigation itself to an external investigator or legal counsel. The more tasks you delegate to an external party, the higher the amount typically becomes.
In practice, the amount is made up of two components: the costs of the channel itself (the technical system in which an employee can report and in which deadlines are monitored) and the costs of the person who actually assesses and handles the report. These two components are often offered separately, even though they may seem like one package in a sales conversation.
Where the amount comes from
The technical part, the reporting channel, is usually offered as a subscription per organisation, often with a price that scales with the number of employees. That subscription covers setting up a reporting page, the option to report anonymously or by voice message, and the automatic monitoring of statutory deadlines for acknowledgement of receipt and feedback.
The human part, the actual handling and assessment of a report, is charged separately. This happens, for example, per hour, per case, or as a fixed amount per period for a dedicated handler. An external legal counsel or investigation firm that investigates a report typically works on an hourly basis, and the duration of that investigation depends heavily on the nature and scope of the report.
What determines the costs
The most important factor is the size of your organisation: the number of employees determines how many reports you can reasonably expect, and thus how much handling capacity is needed. An organisation with one hundred employees typically has fewer reports than an organisation with one thousand employees, and this affects the price of a subscription or hourly rate.
The sector also plays a role. Sectors with an increased risk of reports, such as the financial sector or healthcare, may need a handler with specific knowledge, and that specialisation can affect the costs. The number of EU countries in which you are active also counts: if you operate in multiple countries, there is often a need for handling in multiple languages and knowledge of local regulatory variations.
Finally, the complexity of an individual report determines the costs of the investigation itself. A brief, straightforward report takes less time than a report with multiple parties involved, witnesses and documents. This distinction can never be fully predicted in advance, which makes it difficult to state one total amount before a report arrives.
Handling internally versus outsourcing
Many employers choose to handle the processing themselves internally, for example by an HR manager or a compliance officer, and only outsource the channel and deadline monitoring to a platform. This is often the most cost-effective route, because no external hourly rate is involved. This choice does require that the internal handler has sufficient time and independence to handle a report carefully.
Other employers consciously choose an external handler, for example because the organisation is small and there is no one internally with sufficient distance from the person who reported or the person involved, or because it concerns a report about someone in management itself. In those cases, independence often outweighs the cost difference. More information on who may handle a report and how impartiality works in this context can be found in the knowledge base with explanations on each topic.
What else matters besides the amount
In addition to costs, it is important to know that a reporting channel and its handling are two separate responsibilities. A platform such as signalo.eu structures the channel, monitors the seven-day and three-month deadlines, and provides the associated documents, but never assesses a report itself. The handling remains legally with the employer, even if part of the work is outsourced.
Whether your organisation has this obligation and what that entails, you can check in a few questions with an indication. An overview of the subscription forms and what comes with them can be found on the pricing and subscriptions page. For the substantiation of where the information on this site comes from, you can go to the page that explains where the information comes from.
Would you like to first see whether the reporting obligation applies to your organisation and what that entails, before you think about the costs of handling? Do the free quick-scan or browse through the topics in the knowledge base.