How To HR.Hackathon

An HR.Hackathon is a co-creative, time-bound event that uses design thinking methods to generate ideas around an HR challenge.

I initially designed the HR.Hackathon format in 2016 for the DisruptHR Chicago community and then scaled it as part of the HR.Hackathon Alliance.

Since, HR teams have asked me to adapt the format for use inside their organizations. HR.Hackathon as an intentionally designed experience is an effective method for engaging employees.

Here are a few tips that might help you deliver a successful event, regardless of whether you engage me to facilitate the HR.Hackathon or whether you plan to do it yourself:

PLAN THE HR.HACKATHON

Effective HR.Hackathon planning minimizes risks during execution. These are a few questions you’d want to ask yourself during planning:

• Whom do we need to engage to frame and scope the challenges we want to solve for?
• What outcomes do we want to achieve (e.g., high level concepts, mid-fidelity prototypes)?
• Based on the desired outcomes, what’s the appropriate time frame for the HR.Hackathon?
• Who should be invited to hack, judge, and facilitate?
• What methods do we want the teams to use for discovery, ideation, and prototyping?
• Should this be a friendly competition (incl. prizes) or not? If the latter, what will our evaluation criteria be? ?
• What happens after the HR.Hackathon?

What other questions do you consider when planning an event like this?

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RUN THE HR.HACKATHON

Facilitating an HR.Hackathon is part art, and part science. Following a well-planned agenda and design thinking activities will help to move the event along and result in tangible outcomes. Here are some dos and don’ts for facilitating an HR.Hackathon:

• Some participants might find the pace and approach intimidating or unfamiliar at first. Create an environment of psychological safety, fun, and experimentation.
• Keep participants energized via ice breakers and self-care breaks.
• Don’t underestimate the impact of hierarchy and cultural maturity when it comes to internal HR.Hackathons. Despite the democratizing impact of design thinking methods, employees are acutely aware of which ideas the VP put forth...
• Have realistic expectations about the innovation level of ideas, especially if this is the first-time employees participate in an HR.Hackathon and/or if it’s a short event.

What other considerations do you think are important for an event like this?

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EVALUATE THE HR.HACKATHON

Measuring the success of an HR.Hackathon and learning from mistakes should be an integral part of the process. However, this phase is often neglected. Here are some thought starters for how you might evaluate and sustain the impact of an HR.Hackathon:

• Measuring the Efficacy of an HR.Hackathon as a way to engage employees via a pre-survey/post-survey can measure how engaged they feel in general and more specifically how much ownership they feel over engagement action planning and HR program design.
• Interpreting HR.Hackathon Feedback and Results: “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…” (Theodore Roosevelt). An experience can have ups and downs – both, for participants as well as for organizers. Think about how you take that into account when evaluating the feedback you receive.
• Sustaining Momentum after the HR.Hackathon: Fruitful and supportive conditions are needed to sustain momentum after an HR.Hackathon. Some organizations use post HR.Hackathon Learning Circles to connect teams to stakeholders.

What are other evaluation and sustainability activities you have experimented with after an event like this?

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I am curious: What do you think of using HR.Hackathon to engage employees? Have you participated in or facilitated an HR.Hackathon inside your organization? What were your lessons learned that you could share with the community?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Design Thinking for HR is a biweekly LinkedIn newsletter that aims to inspire HR professionals to experiment with the human-centered design framework. The newsletter is curated by?Nicole Dessain who is an employee experience consultant, design thinking workshop facilitator, and Northwestern University instructor. Nicole is currently writing her first book about Design Thinking for HR. Join the Early Readers’ Community here.