This guide explains how to authorise a secure HiBob connection using OAuth, check that employee records reach Thrive, and get help if the connection needs attention. Thrive uses Merge to retrieve data from HiBob. Your Thrive contact will provide the connection or reauthorisation link when your organisation is ready.
Before You Begin
Agree with your Thrive contact which employees should be included, which HiBob field supplies each employee's stable ID, and which fields will be mapped to Thrive using merge.dev.
Have a small set of employee records ready to check, including a current employee, a recent joiner, and, where appropriate, an inactive employee. Avoid changing real employee data solely to test the connection.
If you are moving an existing connection to OAuth, use the reauthorisation link supplied for that existing connection. Do not create a second connection unless Thrive asks you to.
Connect or Reauthorise HiBob
Open the secure HiBob connection or reauthorisation link sent by your Thrive Integration Specialist.
In the connection modal, choose Use my credentials (recommended) when this option appears.
Continue to HiBob and sign in with your administrator account if prompted.
Read the HiBob consent screen. Check the app name, the requested permissions, and the employee population that the app can access. Approve only if these match the access agreed for your integration.
Return to the connection modal and complete any remaining prompts until you see a confirmation. The initial data sync then begins. Tell your Thrive Integration Specialist that authorisation is complete so they can validate the data and mappings.
What Happens to Employee Data
HiBob is the source for the employee information included in the agreed mapping. Merge retrieves the authorised HiBob data, and Thrive processes it to create or update the corresponding user accounts. The connection is for provisioning into Thrive; this guide does not describe changes being written back to HiBob.
Thrive normally runs the integration four times a day, starting at 00:00, 06:00, 12:00, and 18:00 UTC. A cycle can take around 30 to 120 minutes, and the initial Merge sync may take additional time. Your Thrive Integration Specialist can confirm when the first validation is ready. Future-dated joiners are processed once their start date has arrived and a subsequent Thrive sync runs.
Thrive uses the agreed external employee identifier, called the 'ref', to match a HiBob employee to the same Thrive user over time. Keep this ID stable, including when an employee changes their name or email address. Thrive supports Active and Inactive lifecycle states; an approved absence or leave does not by itself mean the account should be suspended.
Check the Connection
After Thrive confirms that the first sync has completed, open a few of the agreed sample users in Thrive.
Compare each user with HiBob: stable ID, name, work email, manager, and any configured department, job title, start date, or other mapped fields.
Send discrepancies to your Thrive contact with the HiBob employee ID, the field, the expected value, and the observed value. Do not include unnecessary sensitive employee information.
Troubleshooting
Authorisation Fails or the Link Has Expired
Ask your Thrive contact for a fresh Merge connection or reauthorisation link. Check that the person approving access has HiBob administrator permissions and that the consent screen belongs to the expected app.
Connection Succeeds but a Field Is Missing
Check that the field is populated in HiBob and that the correct people population was selected during authorisation. Tell Thrive which field and sample employee are affected so the scope, source permissions, and mapping can be checked. A new field may need mapping work before it appears in Thrive.
A User Is Missing or Appears Twice
Check the employee's start date and stable ID in HiBob. A future-dated joiner will wait until the start date and next sync. A changed or missing ID can prevent an existing Thrive account from matching; share the affected IDs with Thrive before changing them.
A Previously Working Connection Requests Reauthorisation
Use the reauthorisation route supplied by Thrive for that connection. Let your Thrive contact know when it is complete so they can confirm the next sync. Avoid creating another HiBob connection to resolve a reauthorisation request.
Support and Further Reading
For connection links, mapping questions, sync checks, or errors, contact Thrive support via Zendesk.
For Merge's own walkthrough of this connection, see the Merge customer OAuth linking guide.