Big ideas start with our people: inside Alinta Energy's Hackathon

An idea that started with our people

Our Hackathon wasn't born out of a top-down corporate initiative. It started with one employee who saw an opportunity to bring people together, try new things and challenge the status quo.

JM Zuniga, Digital Delivery Lead in our Technology team, helped turn that idea into an event that's now in its third instalment in just two years.

What began as an opportunity for technology enthusiasts to experiment has grown into something much bigger, attracting people from across Alinta Energy who share a curiosity about how we can do things better.

And it's still very much driven by our people.

Behind the scenes is a volunteer organising committee made up of employees from different teams, roles and locations. They plan and deliver the event alongside their day jobs, united by a shared enthusiasm for innovation, collaboration and having a bit of fun along the way.

“The fact that the Hackathon was started by our own people, and continues to be driven by them, is a great example of what can happen when people are encouraged to take an idea and run with it,” said Nicole Brolan, Executive Director, Retail Markets.

Real problems. Clever solutions.

The beauty of the Hackathon is that the ideas come from people who understand the challenges they're trying to solve.

Some teams focused on making life easier for customers, exploring ways to simplify payments, track service orders and reduce lengthy identity checks over the phone. Others looked at opportunities to work smarter, from automating repetitive tasks and simplifying billing processes to using artificial intelligence to help contact centre teams find the right information faster. There were also ideas exploring how we connect with customers and communities in new ways.

More than just concepts, many teams developed working prototypes and considered what it would take to bring their ideas to life. Some identified potential business benefits worth millions of dollars.

"The creativity, the collaboration, the pitches really blew us all away," said Nicole.

"I loved the more left-field ideas around brand, marketing and community engagement. That's really taking the spirit of what we're trying to do."

Making room to think differently

Innovation isn't always about developing the next big technology. Sometimes it's about questioning a process, finding a simpler solution or bringing a fresh perspective to a familiar problem.

That's what makes the Hackathon such a valuable part of our culture of continuous improvement.

For three days, employees have the opportunity to step away from their usual responsibilities, work with colleagues they might not ordinarily meet and explore ideas that don't always fit neatly into the day-to-day.

Brad Walker, General Manager Data & AI Platforms says Hackathons themselves are evolving.

"They used to be about technical capability and actually rolling your sleeves up and hacking. Now it's about innovation, changing the status quo, and challenging culture and ways of working."

"We've got a unique opportunity to work differently to how we do day-to-day. We've got a chance to think differently than we normally do."

That opportunity to collaborate across teams is one of the reasons the event continues to grow.

"It felt even more cross-functional than our first two Hackathons, and I think that improved the quality of the ideas we got," Nicole said.

At Alinta Energy, we know good ideas can come from anywhere. Giving our people the opportunity to explore them, collaborate and see where they lead is one way we're building a culture where innovation and continuous improvement are part of how we work.