Built in Australia.
Designed for the world.
HiveRef was created by a team of recruitment and HR professionals who got tired of watching small businesses make high-stakes hiring decisions with the wrong tools. We built the platform we wished existed.
Where we started
We have been on both sides of the hiring table.
The HiveRef team has spent decades placing candidates, advising hiring managers, building HR functions, and managing reference processes across four continents. We have run references by phone, by email, by spreadsheet, and by guesswork. Every method had the same problem: too slow, too inconsistent, and too easy to get wrong.
We built HiveRef specifically for the businesses that were being left behind by the market: growing SMBs that take hiring seriously but do not have the headcount, the budget, or the time for enterprise-grade HR software. These are the businesses where one bad hire genuinely hurts, and where the person running references is also running the payroll, the office, and probably the coffee order.
Our background is not in software for its own sake. It is in understanding what a hiring decision actually costs when it goes wrong, and building the simplest possible tool to reduce that risk. For how the product works today, see how it works or why teams choose HiveRef.
The reference check was always the last step that nobody had time for. We built HiveRef so it becomes the step that runs itself, and produces something you can actually use.
HiveRef founding team
What we bring to the product
More than 50 years of recruitment and HR experience, built into every decision.
HiveRef is not a software product that consulted the industry. It was built by people who spent careers inside it.
Where we have worked
International experience. One consistent platform.
Our team has operated hiring and HR functions across four regions. That experience is why HiveRef works the same way whether you are hiring in Sydney or Singapore.
Who we build for
Designed for small and medium businesses. Built to scale with you.
HiveRef is deliberately designed for businesses that hire without a dedicated HR department. The typical HiveRef user is an office manager, a founder, or a people and culture lead who is also doing three other jobs. Every product decision is made with that person in mind.
That does not mean HiveRef stops being useful when a business grows. The platform is built on infrastructure used by some of the largest technology companies in the world, which means it handles scale without requiring a different product. A 10-person business and a 500-person business run exactly the same workflow, at very different volumes.
For larger organisations that want the rigour of a structured reference process without the cost and complexity of an enterprise platform, HiveRef offers a genuinely cost-effective self-service path. No custom quotes, no implementation projects, no annual contracts. Just a process that works at the size you are today and the size you are building toward. Compare plans on our pricing page.
All plans start with 4 free checks. No credit card required. Get started free.
The infrastructure behind HiveRef
Enterprise-grade technology. SMB-friendly pricing.
The companies that trust HiveRef's underlying infrastructure include some of the most demanding technology businesses in the world. That is not a coincidence; it is why small businesses on HiveRef get genuine scalability without paying for it upfront.
How we operate
Four principles that drive every product decision.
These are not values written for a website. They are the actual constraints we apply when deciding what to build, what to skip, and how to treat customers.
Ready to see it for yourself?
Start with 4 free reference checks. No credit card, no sales call, no commitment.
Questions before you sign up are welcome, no obligation.