When we first thought about hosting the first-ever Edelman AI Hackathon in the UK, we assumed the focus would be on exploring how AI tools can transform how we work. We were focusing on AI enablement, increasing AI fluency and how we could use AI to be more efficient and augment the craft of our comms work.
Plot twist: Turns out our Hackathon really wasn’t just about AI, the tools or “enablement” and “fluency”. It was about how our colleagues collaborated, problem-solved and helped each other see challenges and opportunities from a different perspective.
AI Was Just the Conduit.
We know we have exceptional, creative people, with brilliant ideas and who care about our business, how we operate internally and how we consistently show up for our clients.
AI was the catalyst to tap into that collective brilliance. The Hackathon was a safe place for our colleagues to experiment with AI, forget about fluency and expertise, and focus on brainstorming new ideas, rethinking the art of the possible.
The result? Two days of brainstorming and building with 80 colleagues in 14 teams producing 14 amazing ideas, prototypes and concepts created across two days covering themes including AI adoption, unlocking growth, onboarding new staff, identifying skills, creativity and content creation. Every idea had elements that we will explore and develop further to integrate into our day-to-day work.
It was more than ‘building cool things with AI’
Innovation excellence doesn’t start with AI: It starts with people and a problem they really want to solve.
Our colleagues weren’t asked to ‘build with AI’: They took an ‘IRL’ challenge or opportunity and hacked it, with a view to improving our employee and client experience using the Edelman suite of AI tools.
We maximised the creativity of the output by building diverse and cross-functional and cross-experience teams, giving us a unique 360-degree view of the challenges, and the solutions.
The pain points that surfaced weren’t a surprise to anyone, so the real ‘a ha!’ moments came from using AI as a thought partner to push our thinking to new limits.
Culture is the real unlock
Our culture meant that colleagues were able to play with AI in a low-distraction space where there were no ‘stupid ideas’. The catalyst of AI quickly broke the ice as cross-functional teams started working together to uncover a new way of working outside of established teams and peer groups.
The buzz was electric, energising and genuinely fun. This is important. If large-scale AI adoption is going to succeed, it must feel relevant, accessible, inclusive and exciting to all of us.
Momentum Matters
The great ideas from our Hackathon are only the first step. What comes next is as important as the Hackathon itself: Tracking the development of ideas and concepts reinforces the value of this new way of working. Our colleagues need to see and be a part of how the ideas develop and evolve.
Momentum is key, so we’re taking the energy from 80 colleagues who gave us two days of their time and investing it in pushing forward the ideas and solutions.
Transformation Done Differently
The Hackathon showed us how accessible innovation can be when grounded in but not distracted by the daily work. It also shows that transformation doesn’t have to be painful. Transformation is gradual, and it’s something that over time, we build together.
At the post-Hackathon drinks, the question everyone asked was when the next one was taking place. Other markets and regions are already running and planning their own Hackathons. We are also developing a ‘Hackathon in a box’, so individual teams across the network can host their own versions.
And we are already developing how we can offer this to our clients, so they too can see how AI can be applied in practice, not just talking about the future, but building it.
Gavin Spicer is Chief AI Officer, UK & Managing Director EMEA at Assembly.