Running internal hackathons is an effective way for companies to encourage innovation and collaboration among their employees. These events allow staff members to come together and tackle problems as a team, bringing in fresh ideas and new approaches to problem-solving. Brandon Kessler, CEO and co-founder of DevPost, a company that helps organize hackathons, emphasizes the importance of innovation and collaboration in these events. He believes that allowing employees to come up with ideas and solve problems not only benefits the company but also makes the staff more efficient.
Kessler notes that AI has become synonymous with innovation in hackathons. Among the 1,200 hackathons organized by DevPost last year, nearly all of them revolved around AI. This highlights the growing interest and importance of AI in driving innovation. Hackathons provide an environment where cross-disciplinary involvement and collaboration can lead to innovative ideas. Netta Retter, the director of innovation programs at Okta, credits Facebook for recognizing the power of hackathons early on and fostering a culture of innovation. Okta also places great emphasis on hackathons as a means to drive innovation and build a strong hack culture globally.
For Okta, hackathons have been instrumental in exploring the potential of AI to improve their products and services. The company has leveraged hackathons to showcase the capabilities of AI and to empower employees to utilize new tools. By encouraging bottom-up innovation, hackathons enable individuals to influence what is built and how it is built. This approach has proven successful for Okta in fostering a culture of innovation.
Chris Aidan, VP of Innovation and Inclusive and Emerging Technologies at Estée Lauder, shares a similar perspective on hackathons. While the focus may differ from business-related topics, Aidan believes that the methodology remains the same. Estée Lauder uses hackathons to tackle human-interest issues such as breast cancer detection and assisting vision-impaired individuals with makeup application. The goal is to bring together both the public and employees to find solutions to specific challenges.
The value of diversity in hackathons cannot be overstated. Netta Retter emphasizes the importance of including individuals from diverse roles, both technical and non-technical, to bring fresh perspectives and ideas. She believes that diversity leads to better products and greater innovation. Hackathons that incorporate a range of perspectives and lived experiences have a more significant impact and are more likely to produce groundbreaking solutions.
In conclusion, internal hackathons provide companies with a powerful tool to encourage innovation and collaboration among their employees. These events foster a culture of innovation, enable cross-disciplinary involvement, and drive the exploration of emerging technologies like AI. By incorporating diverse perspectives, hackathons can unlock new ideas and solutions that benefit both the company and its customers.
