Innovate, federate, recruit in record time thanks to a hackathon

As a source of innovation, a hackathon has a number of benefits for companies. In particular, it enables :

• Structuring the emergence of ideas : a hackathon provides participants with a supervised space for reflection and creativity, enabling them to develop their projects and ideas.
• Offer a collaborative experience : beyond the objective, which is to find innovative solutions to a given problem, a corporate hackathon brings together employees from different departments. It's an opportunity to work cross-functionally and improve communication between departments.
• Innovate quickly: the very concept of this challenge is to accelerate thinking, in marathon mode, to bring innovative projects to fruition in a very short space of time.
• Promote skills development : taking part in a hackathon enables employees to step out of their comfort zone, boosting their initiative-taking with a view to surpassing themselves.
• Enhance creativity: the competitive environment, coupled with the sense of urgency imposed by the hackathon's short timeframe, makes for a tenfold increase in creative and innovative ideas.
• Spotting talent: whether you're looking to recruit new talent or unite your company's high-potential employees, the hackathon concept is a great way to identify future talent.
• Improve your brand image : organizing a hackathon is a sign of a dynamic, innovative company.

Hackathon participants are often employees of a company. They are selected to develop innovative solutions related to a specific theme. But for certain innovation projects, people from outside the company may also be called upon: freelancers, students, entrepreneurs, researchers ... The ideal is to have a fairly varied panel of profiles from different ecosystems. To attract participants, it is sometimes necessary to run a communication campaign or launch a call for projects.

A traditional hackathon lasts an average of 48 hours. Shorter ones can be completed in 24 hours minimum, and longer ones can last up to 72 hours.

The procedure for these innovation competitions is fairly universal and follows several stages:

• Welcoming participants;
• Presentation of the theme, the problem to be addressed and practical details;
• Teams are put together with a maximum mix of profiles;
• Challenge procedure: brainstorming, experimentation... Coaches or experts can circulate between the teams to advise them.
• Presentation of innovations to the jury;
• Election of the winning team with a possible prize-giving ceremony;
• Follow-up on submitted projects.

If a hackathon is open to the public, it generally takes place over the weekend to encourage the number of participants. If it's organized in-house, the challenge can take place during working hours.

The jury can be made up of in-house staff, members of the executive committee, partners, or specialists in the topic in question (entrepreneurs, researchers, scientists, etc.). Like the profile of the participants, the jury must be diversified to be able to best judge the different angles of the issue. The participation of recognized decision-makers can attract more participants. It is important to communicate the evaluation criteria to jury members, so that they can objectively analyze the creative ideas and feasibility of the project before selecting the winners.

Even if a hackathon shouldn't be about winning prizes, it's still a competition whose aim is to reward participative innovation. Rewards can take many forms, including recognition schemes or inspirational rewards: access to conferences or training courses on the topic addressed, integration into a project incubator or gas pedal, media subscriptions... Rewards also sometimes take the form of tech gifts (e-readers, tablets, connected watches...).

Organizing this innovative event can be complex, and shouldn't be overlooked. There are a few key steps to consider:

- Framing phase: definition of objectives, theme, target audience, etc. ;

- Communication plan to attract participants ;

- Event schedule: coaching, refreshments for participants, creation of prototypes, closing ceremony... ;

- Post-hackathon communication and project follow-up.

To ensure the success of your hackathon with perfect preparation, call on a specialized agency!

Startup weekends are an offshoot of hackathons. They work on the same principle: a challenge based on collective intelligence, an event over a short period of time that brings together people with diverse profiles.

These events are public and take place over a weekend only. They bring together entrepreneurs and young project leaders with the aim of developing a startup project.