Find out how HackerEarth can boost your tech recruiting

Learn more
piller_image

Internal Hackathons: Drive Innovation And Increase Engagement In Tech Teams

internal-hackathons-drive-innovation

In recent years, multiple avenues have opened up for successful tech hiring and hackathons are one of everyone’s favorites. Apart from helping various tech corporations gain skilled employees, hackathons have also helped generate great ideas that furthered the growth of businesses.

Typically hackathons are external, meaning they are held for individuals who are not part of the company but are seeking to be. On the other hand, internal hackathons are held for individuals who are a part of the company. The duration of these hackathons can be anywhere from a few hours to a few days and are held for several reasons, such as generating innovative ideas and products while improving employee engagement.

Internal hackathons

In simple words, internal hackathons are tech-related events held by companies to drive internal engagement, break the clutter, promote skill development, and help boost innovation within the company.

After a hackathon ends, the winner is decided by a board of jury and is offered a variety of rewards for the same. It could either be an offer to bring their product or software to life or it could be a monetary reward.

internal-hackathons-drive-innovation

 


Also, read: How Hackathons Can Help You Attract, Engage, Hire, And Train Top Talent


There are great benefits to hosting internal hackathons, let’s take a look at a few of them:

Encourage and drive innovation

Internal hackathons will bring out the best in your employees, there is no doubt about that. With great rewards at stake, you can be sure that every participant will bring out their best game. More often than not, people tend to whip out extremely unique solutions to abstract problems while in a competitive environment.

Hackathon is a cost-effective way of getting every team in the organization involved in hopes of discussing and generating ideas that align with the organization’s goals. Apart from giving innovative minds a much-required boost, it also helps drive engagement.

Improved learning experience

If you are looking to target specific skills then internal hackathons may just be what you need. It gives the employees and other individuals of the company a chance to try out new tools and new frameworks and also allows them to think of a unique solution for abstract problems. It provides the employees with a safe space for them to showcase skills without being under any pressure.

Whatever solution seems to work the best can be incorporated later by the organization’s employees. This way it helps the organization streamline quite a few of its processes as well.

Continued exposure to learning is extremely important for individuals as they do not end up stagnating their skills and capabilities. This further helps the help organization decrease its turnover rates as well.

Inclusion and diversity

Internal hackathons help drive inclusion and diversity. People from different backgrounds and different teams come together to bring about solutions that can further help the organization move forward.

Try to involve the entire organization rather than just technical teams, this helps in giving the entire organization’s employees a broader perspective and helps them work together and bring about viable solutions that can further help them and the organization.

Additionally, people feel free together voices any concerns they may have as there is no higher kill role present in an internal hackathon

Encourages internal networking

In a time where quite a few organizations work remotely, it is essential to get the teams to interact with each other. This can be done by bringing them together for events such as these.

Additionally, internal hacked ones are not your everyday formal office interactions. Internal hackathons can help build productivity and help the organization move toward its objectives. Internal hackathons result in increased employee engagement and happiness and there are several pieces of research that state that happier employees always result in low turnover rates for organizations.


Also, read: Virtual Hackathons: All You Need To Know


Healthy competition

Comes as no surprise that internal hackathons help drive competition within organizations and with multiple rewards being at stake encourage the employee to work harder and smarter to come up with abstract solutions for any given problem.

Healthy competition always gives birth to creating innovation, this comes as no surprise. The same goes for internal hackathons, almost every internal hackathon has a great reward for the employees and the organization waiting at the end.

Companies that innovate via hackathons

Identify employee skills

This is one of the best reasons to hold an internal hackathon at your organization. It gives organizations a chance to review their employees and their skills.

More often than not, individuals possess skills that can help the organization move forward. As a manager or a higher-up in the organization, you should be able to identify such talent across the organization. Once identified, you can help them hone the skills to help them grow and your employee will use those skills for the benefit of the organization.

Doing this also helps increase employee retention rates, in other words, your employees’ loyalty toward the company will do nothing but increase.

Final thoughts

Internal hackathons are a great way of furthering the success of your organization as well as your employees. From being creative with solutions to promoting internal networking, internal hackathons can help a lot.

It can help organizations retain their employees, improve employee satisfaction rates, help them be more creative, create a safe environment for the growth of employees, and much more.

So why don’t you give it a try? And why don’t you choose HackerEarth’s hackathon platform?

It’s got amazing functionality and features! From hackathon promotion to evaluation/analysis support, we’ve got everything covered for you.

Internal Hackathons FAQs

What is an internal hackathon?

An internal hackathon is an event where employees within a company collaborate intensively on software projects. It’s a creative and productive way to foster innovation, team building, and problem-solving skills among tech teams.

How do internal hackathons drive innovation?

Internal hackathons encourage participants to think outside the box and explore new ideas and technologies. This environment of unrestricted creativity leads to the development of innovative solutions to existing problems or the creation of entirely new products.

What are the benefits of hosting an internal hackathon?

Benefits include improved employee engagement, enhanced collaboration across different departments, rapid problem-solving, skill development, and the potential to uncover hidden talents within your organization.

How long does a typical internal hackathon last?

The duration can vary, but most internal hackathons last between 24 to 48 hours. This time frame allows participants to dive deep into projects without disrupting regular work schedules significantly.

Who can participate in an internal hackathon?

While primarily designed for tech teams, employees from all departments can participate. Involving a diverse group can lead to more creative solutions and better team cohesion.

Do participants need to have coding skills to join?

Not necessarily. Participants can contribute in various ways, such as idea generation, project management, design, and testing. It’s about collaboration and leveraging each team member’s strengths.

How are projects chosen for the hackathon?

Projects can be proposed by participants or pre-selected by organizers. In some cases, a theme is provided, and teams develop projects aligned with that theme.

 

Hackerearth Subscribe

Get advanced recruiting insights delivered every month

Related reads

Best Interview Questions For Assessing Tech Culture Fit in 2024
Best Interview Questions For Assessing Tech Culture Fit in 2024

Best Interview Questions For Assessing Tech Culture Fit in 2024

Finding the right talent goes beyond technical skills and experience. Culture fit plays a crucial role in building successful teams and fostering long-term…

Best Hiring Platforms in 2024: Guide for All Recruiters
Best Hiring Platforms in 2024: Guide for All Recruiters

Best Hiring Platforms in 2024: Guide for All Recruiters

Looking to onboard a recruiting platform for your hiring needs/ This in-depth guide will teach you how to compare and evaluate hiring platforms…

Best Assessment Software in 2024 for Tech Recruiting
Best Assessment Software in 2024 for Tech Recruiting

Best Assessment Software in 2024 for Tech Recruiting

Assessment software has come a long way from its humble beginnings. In education, these tools are breaking down geographical barriers, enabling remote testing…

Top Video Interview Softwares for Tech and Non-Tech Recruiting in 2024: A Comprehensive Review
Top Video Interview Softwares for Tech and Non-Tech Recruiting in 2024: A Comprehensive Review

Top Video Interview Softwares for Tech and Non-Tech Recruiting in 2024: A Comprehensive Review

With a globalized workforce and the rise of remote work models, video interviews enable efficient and flexible candidate screening and evaluation. Video interviews…

8 Top Tech Skills to Hire For in 2024
8 Top Tech Skills to Hire For in 2024

8 Top Tech Skills to Hire For in 2024

Hiring is hard — no doubt. Identifying the top technical skills that you should hire for is even harder. But we’ve got your…

How HackerEarth and Olibr are Reshaping Tech Talent Discovery
How HackerEarth and Olibr are Reshaping Tech Talent Discovery

How HackerEarth and Olibr are Reshaping Tech Talent Discovery

In the fast-paced tech world, finding the right talent is paramount. For years, HackerEarth has empowered tech recruiters to identify top talent through…

Hackerearth Subscribe

Get advanced recruiting insights delivered every month

View More

Top Products

Hackathons

Engage global developers through innovation

Hackerearth Hackathons Learn more

Assessments

AI-driven advanced coding assessments

Hackerearth Assessments Learn more

FaceCode

Real-time code editor for effective coding interviews

Hackerearth FaceCode Learn more

L & D

Tailored learning paths for continuous assessments

Hackerearth Learning and Development Learn more