What Hive does

Hive (legal entity HiveHR Limited) is a UK-based SaaS employee voice and engagement platform headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, founded in 2015. The platform is built as a modular suite comprising Hive Surveying (baseline, pulse, themed and targeted surveys), Hive Open Door (always-on confidential listening), Hive Fives (peer-to-peer recognition), Hive Messenger (confidential two-way communication), and Hive Actions (action planning and tracking), underpinned by an HRIS integration layer and Reporting Tools. AI features include AI-Powered Insight, which uses natural language processing to categorise thousands of open-text comments in seconds, and AI Actions Coach, which generates personalised action plans for managers based on team feedback.

Hive generates revenue primarily through annual SaaS subscriptions bundled with Professional Services engagements staffed by occupational psychologists, sold via a direct sales motion with a 'Book a Demo' CTA on the website. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the only published discounts are a 10% community rate for HR Ninjas members and a 20% first-year discount for North East businesses. The go-to-market targets UK mid-market organisations (251-5,000 employees) and public-sector buyers, with vertical specialisation in Housing Associations, Education, Healthcare, Emergency Services, Public Sector, Retail, Not-for-Profit, Construction & Engineering, and Professional Services. Named customers include River Island, Hermes, Travelodge, END., Sheffield Hallam University, Newcastle Airport, FSCS, Northumbria Police, Karbon Homes, Your Homes Newcastle, Gateshead College, and Ward Hadaway, alongside certifications (ISO 27001:2022, Cyber Essentials Plus, Cyber Essentials, G Cloud supplier) that support procurement into regulated buyers. Hive is venture-backed, having raised approximately £2.5-3M cumulatively across rounds in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021, with Maven Capital Partners and the British Business Bank's Future Fund as core institutional investors.

Name

Hive

Legal name

HiveHR Limited

Website

https://hive.hr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hive is a UK-based SaaS employee voice and engagement platform serving mid-market and public-sector organisations. It combines modular survey, recognition and feedback tools with AI-powered insight, occupational psychology consultancy, and action planning to help HR teams convert employee feedback into measurable organisational change.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Employee Engagement Software

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

HR Service Delivery, Case Management & Employee Self-Service (BPACAPAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wellbeing, Mental Health & Employee Assistance (EAP) (BPACAPAO)

Keywords

• Employee engagement
• Employee feedback
• HR analytics software
• People analytics
• Employee surveys

Headquarters

HQ city

Newcastle Upon Tyne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Platform Subscription: Annual or multi-year SaaS subscription for access to the Hive employee voice platform including surveying, open door, fives, messenger, and actions modules.
2. Professional Services: Expert insight, coaching, and strategic consultancy including reporting modules, workshops, and actioning change sessions provided alongside the platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Hive is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) employee engagement platform that helps organizations collect, analyze, and act on employee feedback. The platform combines pulse surveys, open-door feedback, peer recognition, and people analytics to help HR teams measure engagement and improve workforce performance. It is targeted primarily at HR and people teams seeking data-driven insight into employee sentiment and culture.

Product overview

Hive is an employee voice platform offering a unified suite of interconnected modules for employee engagement, surveying, and organizational performance. The core portfolio includes Hive Surveying (surveys), Hive Open Door (always-on feedback), Hive Fives (peer recognition), Hive Messenger (confidential feedback), and Hive Actions (action planning), supported by Professional Services and People Science teams. AI-powered features including AI-Powered Insight and AI Actions Coach augment the platform with automated comment categorization and personalized manager guidance. The platform also includes Reporting Tools, Support & Services, HRIS Integration, Global Surveying, and dedicated solutions for Large Organisations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hive Surveying: Employee surveying tool for creating, launching, and understanding employee surveys
• Hive Open Door
• Hive Fives
• Hive Messenger
• Hive Actions
• Hive People Science
• Professional Services

Products and services

• Hive Surveying

Quantifiable outcome

• 23% improvement in retention (Bloom case study)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• HR NinjascoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHive is the Official Employee Survey Partner for the HR Ninjas community. The partnership provides community members with a preferential 10% Ninja-rate discount for their first 12 months and positions Hive as the endorsed survey tool for the practitioner network. Hive staff participate actively in the community, contributing content, resources, and expertise.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• 15Five: 15Five combines continuous employee engagement surveys with performance management and recognition — overlapping Hive's Surveying, Fives, and Actions modules and competing for the same mid-market HR leader buyer.
• Culture Amp: Culture Amp is a global employee engagement and performance SaaS platform serving mid-market and enterprise customers with surveys, pulse, and analytics — the closest direct competitor to Hive in product, customer segment, and go-to-market.
• Workday Peakon Employee Voice: Peakon (acquired by Workday) is a real-time employee listening platform with AI-driven comment analytics, directly overlapping Hive Surveying, Open Door, and AI-Powered Insight modules across similar enterprise buyer personas.
• Officevibe: Officevibe provides anonymous employee feedback surveys and pulse tools with manager dashboards — a focused engagement competitor to Hive Surveying and Open Door, particularly in SMB and mid-market.
• Eletive: Eletive is a Sweden-based employee engagement and pulse survey platform with people analytics, comparable in product surface area to Hive and competing across European mid-market and enterprise buyers.
• TinyPulse: TinyPulse (now part of Lighthouse) provides anonymous employee feedback, pulse surveys, and recognition — directly comparable to Hive's Surveying, Fives, and Open Door modules for SMB and mid-market customers.

Broad incumbents

• Lattice: Lattice is a broader people management platform covering engagement, performance, and goals; it competes with Hive for HR leader budgets while offering a wider functional footprint that Hive does not match.
• Workday: Workday is a global HCM and financial management platform with embedded engagement via Peakon and Glint; its HCM-installed base gives it a structural distribution advantage over Hive in enterprise and mid-market.

Emerging players

• Leapsome: Leapsome offers engagement surveys alongside performance reviews, OKRs, and learning — a European-headquartered emerging player with overlapping modules to Hive, competing in mid-market across EMEA.
• SurveySparrow: SurveySparrow offers conversational employee experience and engagement surveys with workflow automation — an emerging competitor with partial overlap to Hive Surveying and Actions modules, particularly in SMB and mid-market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@hive_hr
• Facebookfacebook.com/hiveapp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hive-hr
• Instagraminstagram.com/hivehr
• Xx.com/hive_hr

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hive