Empowering leaders to make positive change.

Meet Erin, Founder of Hive Collective

I’m Erin O’Donoghue Founder of Hive Collective. Hive Collective provides consulting services to individuals, large organisations and small business in participatory/collaborative/human centre design.

I started Hive Collective in 2018 to empower individuals, leaders and organisations to make change in the way they work by taking a creative and human centred approach to solving those problems that keep us awake at night. I believe that the effective use of co-design can and will contribute to a better world.

I work with leaders across sectors to authentically engage with those they serve, bringing them on the journey of change while elevating the voices of those who may not have traditionally had a voice in shaping the things that directly impact them.

I’ve been fortunate enough to pursue many things in my career, but the consistent theme across all my roles is people. I have a passion for bringing people together through my extensive background in People and Culture and Innovation, believing that empowering individuals, leaders and organisations to work in this way has great benefit for both customers, consumers and employees.

I have a Graduate Diploma in Business (Human Resource Management), and am a graduate of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner School of Design (d.school) Designing for Social Systems Program and an Alumnus of The Williamson Community Leadership Program (2016).

The “Why” that guides my work revolves around Freedom, Family and Flexibility. A few years back, I took a leap to live a life more aligned with my values, heading off on a travel adventure that has since seen us settle in Bali, Indonesia. I have been working remotely since June 2022, working primarily online and returning to Australia to deliver key project milestones in person as needed by my clients.

Beyond my professional expertise, I'm passionate about mental health and neurodivergence acceptance, driven by my own lived experiences as both a consumer and a family member/supporter and having seen first hand the impact of unmanaged and unsupported mental health challenges. This commitment to breaking down stigma and creating safe spaces for all voices is a thread that runs through my work, as I believe that inclusive, empathetic leadership can be transformative at every level.

Our Values

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Our Values *

People are at the heart of everything we do.

We do good work and spread the love. We work with like-hearted people and create meaningful long term relationships.

We are passionate, empathic, inclusive, curious and authentic.

We love to challenge the status quo and we see mistakes as an opportunity to learn and grow.

  • Mission & Vision

    Our Mission is to empower leaders and organisations to create meaningful, inclusive change through authentic engagement and participatory design. We help our clients elevate important voices in decision-making processes, fostering deeper connections and delivering solutions that truly resonate with the communities they serve.

    Our Vision is for a world where every individual and organisation leads with empathy, collaboration, and inclusivity, ensuring that all voices are heard and programs and policies is designed with real impact in mind. We envision a future where organisations and leaders not only meet, but exceed the evolving needs of their stakeholders through genuine, people-centered engagement.

  • Our Approach

    The way we work is very practical and hands on, and we aim leave you with the tools and techniques that will stay with you long after we leave (in fact if you keep using and practicing your skills will only get stronger). We know this way of working, but we don’t know your business like you do; the magic is what happens when we work together.

    We are a socially conscious business and an important part of the work we do is to give back. We work with NFP/Community Organisations to co-design a solution that suits their often stretched time, resources and budgets. This means that when you choose to work with us, you’re also contributing to the broader community by supporting us to give back. How cool is that? #goodkarma

     We are also passionate about supporting other small businesses, and when there are services we can’t provide ourselves we like to work in partnership with our trusted network to deliver great things for our clients, or if it’s really outside our zone of genius we’ll get you in contact with them directly.

We can help.

Authentic Engagement

We use participatory and human-centered engagement processes and design, ensuring that stakeholders are genuinely involved and heard. This leads to stronger buy-in, reduced resistance to change, programs that are more aligned to the needs of those you serve and more successful project outcomes.

Facilitating Change

We guide individuals, leaders and organisations through the journey of change with structured, empathetic and inclusive facilitation, reducing friction and potential resistance, helping to implement changes smoothly and effectively.

Impactful Outcomes

We leverage our expertise in developing and delivering people-centred projects and programs, supporting leaders and organisations to realise improved outcomes, higher satisfaction among stakeholders, and a stronger reputation for authentic engagement.