Make innovation challenges and hackathons part of your 2025 strategy (for every business function)

Innovation is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Companies are facing increased competition, heightened customer expectations, and accelerating technological advancements, driven in part by the rapid adoption of AI. To stay ahead, organisations have to innovate at an unprecedented speed across all functions, from IT to Compliance.

Internal hackathons and innovation challenges are something you likely haven’t considered as part of your 2025 planning, but they are powerful tools to foster creativity, solve complex problems, and engage employees across all levels of the organisation. Not sure what a hackathon is? Read this first.

Discover why your organisation should integrate hackathons and innovation challenges into its 2025 planning, explore various ways to implement them, and learn how every business function can reap the benefits.

The power of internal hackathons and innovation challenges

Hackathons and innovation challenges are structured events where teams come together to solve problems, develop new ideas, or create prototypes within a limited timeframe. Traditionally associated with tech companies, these events have expanded across industries and business functions. They are a catalyst for collaboration, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking, offering a break from routine tasks and encouraging participants to explore new possibilities.

• Accelerated innovation: These events create a focused environment where employees can rapidly develop and test new ideas.

• Employee engagement: They provide a platform for employees to showcase their skills, work with colleagues from different departments, and gain recognition.

• Problem solving: Hackathons encourage teams to tackle specific challenges, leading to practical solutions that can be implemented in the business.

• Talent development: They help identify and nurture top talent within the organisation.

• Cross-functional collaboration: These events break down silos, fostering collaboration across different business functions.
  

Organisations can seamlessly integrate innovation events in countless ways, thanks to their highly flexible format. These events can be virtual, in-person, or hybrid, and span from a half-day session to several days. They can be designed as standalone experiences or woven into existing meetings, planning sessions, or offsites by dedicating time for collaborative problem-solving and ideation. For even greater impact, organisations can host a series of innovation events throughout the year, building momentum and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

How each business function can use hackathons and innovation challenges strategically

IT: drive technological innovation
For the IT department, hackathons are a natural fit. They offer an opportunity to experiment with new technologies, develop innovative solutions to technical problems, and improve existing systems. Tech professionals have been using these amazing events for years to learn, collaborate, build and show their competitive edge. What could take months to build, a viable solution or prototype could be developed in less than 24 hours. And by involving other departments, IT can ensure that solutions are aligned with the broader business goals.

Example: A technical hackathon aimed at improving data security could result in the development of a new encryption algorithm, enhancing the company’s protection against cyber threats.

HR: enhance employee experience and engagement
Human Resources can leverage innovation challenges to enhance their own function like employee experience, recruitment processes, and retention strategies. But as the focus of employee engagement, HR should also encourage other departments to take advantage of innovation events, to foster collaboration and innovation across the organisation. These events can also be a useful tool to help all employees build AI literacy, ensuring they understand how to effectively use AI tools to drive innovation and improve efficiency in their roles. By championing innovation, HR can play a pivotal role in cultivating a more dynamic, adaptable, and future-ready workforce.

Example: An HR innovation challenge focused on “reimagining employee onboarding” could generate fresh ideas for a more engaging and effective onboarding process, utilising digital tools or gamification techniques.

L&D: encourage hands-on learning
Learning and Development (L&D) teams can leverage hackathons and innovation events to enhance their learning programs by creating hands-on, immersive experiences that make learning more engaging. These types of events encourage employees to apply new skills in real-world scenarios, building deeper understanding and retention. By actively participating in collaborative problem-solving and innovation challenges, employees can learn by doing, which reinforces knowledge far more effectively than traditional training methods. It not only accelerates skill development but also builds confidence and promotes a culture of continuous learning.

Example: Like HR, L&D can aso use hackathons to innovate their own programs. A hackathon focused on “the future of learning” could result in the development of a virtual reality-based training program that simulates real-world scenarios and experiences, enhancing the application of skills acquired, with a direct link back to the learning.

R&D: pioneer product and service innovation
Research and Development (R&D) teams thrive in environments that encourage creativity and experimentation. Hackathons and other innovation events can be used to explore new product ideas, improve existing offerings, or develop innovative solutions to industry challenges. By collaborating with other departments, R&D can ensure that their innovations are aligned with market needs and customer expectations.

Example: An R&D hackathon or series of shorter innovation labs could focus on developing a new product prototype in response to emerging market trends, potentially leading to a breakthrough that sets the company apart from competitors.

Product: experiment with bold ideas
Like IT, hackathons are a natural fit for product teams as well. Hackathons are a powerful tool to drive innovation and accelerate product development because they give product teams the time and space to experiment with bold ideas that might not fit within regular development cycles. In a focused environment, cross-functional teams can collaborate on new ideas, test concepts, and rapidly prototype solutions in response to market needs or customer feedback.

Example: a hackathon focused on "enhancing user experience" could result in the design and testing of a UI that significantly improves accessibility or streamlines navigation, ultimately boosting customer satisfaction and retention.

Marketing: craft innovative campaigns and programs
Marketing and design teams can use innovation challenges to brainstorm and develop creative campaigns, explore new marketing strategies, or enhance brand positioning and messaging. By involving participants from different departments, marketers will gain fresh perspectives and ideas that resonate with a broader audience.

Example: A marketing innovation challenge around changing B2B buyer behaviour could result in an omnichannel campaign strategy with new content, landing pages and messaging, boosting brand awareness, engagement and inbound leads.

Sales: enhance sales strategies and customer engagement
Sales teams can benefit from hackathons by developing new sales strategies, improving customer engagement tactics, or creating innovative sales tools. With GenAI now being such an available resource, augmenting the intelligence of the entire customer facing revenue organisation presents one the greatest opportunities to organisations right now.

Example: A sales hackathon could result in the creation of a new workflow and application that enables a sales executive the ability to make highly personalised outreach using AI, but with multiple touchpoints (not just digital) and on a scale of hundreds of prospects simultaneously.

Finance: optimise processes and analysis
Finance teams can use innovation challenges to explore ways to optimise financial processes, improve forecasting models, or develop new financial products. By collaborating with IT and other departments, finance teams can create solutions that enhance efficiency and support the company’s growth objectives.

Example: A finance innovation challenge could lead to the development of a real-time budgeting tool that provides more accurate financial projections and supports better decision-making.

Legal: Innovate processes and compliance
Legal departments can benefit from innovation challenges by exploring ways to streamline legal processes, improve contract management, or enhance compliance tracking. By involving participants from other departments, legal teams can develop solutions that are not only legally sound but also practical and efficient.

Example: A legal hackathon could result in the creation of an AI-powered contract analysis tool that identifies potential risks and ensures compliance with regulations.

Customer support: enhance the customer experience
Customer Support teams can use innovation challenges to develop new ways to improve customer experience, streamline support processes, or create tools that help agents resolve issues more efficiently. By involving participants from marketing, IT, and other departments, customer support teams can ensure that their solutions are aligned with customer needs and expectations.

Example: A customer support hackathon could result in the development of a chatbot that uses machine learning to provide instant, accurate responses to customer inquiries, improving response times and customer satisfaction.

Executives: drive strategic vision and innovation
For executives, hackathons and innovation challenges offer a unique opportunity to engage with employees, gather insights on emerging trends, and drive the company’s strategic vision. By participating in or sponsoring these events, executives can demonstrate their commitment to innovation, inspire teams, and ensure that the company remains competitive in a rapidly changing market.

Example: An executive sponsored innovation challenge could focus on “reimagining the future of the business,” leading to breakthrough ideas that shape the company’s long-term strategy and growth trajectory.

Sustainability: accelerate environmental and social sustainability
Sustainability is increasingly becoming a priority for businesses across all industries and it's not necessarily always one team or function responsible for it. Hackathons and innovation challenges provide an excellent platform for exploring new ways to enhance environmental and social responsibility. Participants can develop innovative solutions that reduce their environmental footprint, promote ethical practices, and contribute to social good.

Example: A sustainability-focused hackathon could challenge teams to design a zero-waste product lifecycle, develop energy-efficient processes, or create a platform that tracks and reduces the company’s carbon footprint.

How to implement hackathons and innovation challenges

To successfully integrate hackathons and innovation challenges into your 2025 planning, carefully consider these key aspects to ensure the event aligns with your organisation’s strategic goals.

• Objectives and goals: Define the purpose of the hackathon. Are you aiming to foster innovation, improve team collaboration, solve specific challenges, or build new skills?

• Theme or focus area: Decide on a central theme or specific challenges to focus on, aligned with your company’s strategic priorities for 2025.

• Target audience: Determine who will participate—specific departments, cross-functional teams, or the entire organisation. Consider how to balance skills and expertise within teams.

• Format and duration: Decide whether the hackathon will be in-person, virtual, or hybrid, and how long it will last (e.g., a day, a week, or a series of sessions).

• Resources and budget: Plan for the budget, including costs for prizes, tools, software, venue (if in-person), catering, and any external facilitation or mentorship.

• Technology and tools: Determine which tools and technology you’ll use and make sure participants have access, such as development platforms, data sets, collaboration tools, and communication channels.

• Judging criteria and panel: Establish clear criteria for evaluating the projects (e.g., innovation, feasibility, impact, scalability) and select a panel of judges, which might include internal leaders or external experts.

• Mentorship and support: Decide if you will provide mentors or coaches to guide participants and offer feedback throughout the event.

• Communication and promotion: Create a communication plan to build excitement, explain the purpose, provide guidelines, and ensure everyone knows how to participate.

• Incentives and recognition: Decide on the prizes, incentives, or recognition for participants, and consider how to celebrate achievements and maintain engagement beyond the event.

• Post-event plans: Outline a strategy for implementing or supporting promising ideas after the hackathon, including follow-up actions, funding, or resources to turn ideas into reality.

• Incorporate results into strategic plans: Use the insights and innovations generated from these events to inform your company’s strategic direction and priorities.
  

While it's entirely possible to plan and run a hackathon on your own, it can be challenging if you’re short on time or resources. Hiring a hackathon management company can be a valuable option. These experts can help guide the event from start to finish, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently, from ideation to execution, allowing you to focus on participation and achieving your goals. The return on the investment will be worth it.

Give your organisation the tools to think outside the box

As organisations look toward 2025 and beyond, innovation must be a core component of their strategies. Hackathons and innovation challenges provide a dynamic and effective way to drive innovation across all business functions. These events give employees the time and space away from their day-to-day tasks to think creatively and collaborate on new ideas. Organisations who leverage innovation events in their planning will foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement—ensuring their long-term success in an increasingly competitive landscape.