Surprise HR

Surprise HR operated in the human resources technology market, providing an employee experience platform designed to enhance recognition and motivation. The company was founded in 2016. Albert Eloyan served as the company's CEO.

The core of Surprise HR's offering was a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that leveraged principles of behavioral economics. It utilized variable rewards and the element of surprise to make employee recognition more impactful and address the costly issue of employee retention. This automated, turnkey software was designed to be customized to a company's specific strategy, allowing employers to set parameters such as the investment per employee and how the budget was allocated across different reward values. The platform's goal was to help companies motivate and reward their people, gain meaningful workforce insights, and reinforce corporate values.

The company targeted businesses seeking to improve employee engagement and retention. The business model was B2B, focusing on enterprise software. Financially, Surprise HR was backed by venture capital, securing seed funding from investors including Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Soul Capital. A notable funding round on March 20, 2018, raised $300K. However, according to PitchBook data, the company is no longer in business as of March 27, 2025.

Keywords: employee recognition, employee retention, HR tech, SaaS, behavioral economics, variable rewards, employee engagement platform, workforce insights, corporate values, employee motivation, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Albert Eloyan, Out of Business, HR software, employee experience, turnkey software, recognition programs, performance rewards