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Post-Hackathon Follow-up & Impact

Your hackathon doesn't end when the winners are announced. The post-event period determines whether this becomes a one-time event or the start of lasting innovation culture.

Why Post-Event Follow-up Matters

Most organizers treat the results announcement as the finish line. The best organizers know it's just the beginning. What you do in the 7 days after your hackathon determines whether participants sign up next time, whether winning projects actually ship, and whether leadership sees hackathons as strategic investments or one-off experiments.

As Okta's Director of Innovation Programs notes, successful companies "build a really strong hack culture" where hackathons "influence what we build and how we build it in a bottom up kind of way" — but only when organizers follow through with measurement and continuous improvement.

Build Community

Turn one-time participants into your hackathon community who come back every time.

Prove Impact

Show leadership the ROI with metrics on participation, innovation, and project outcomes.

Improve Continuously

Learn from what worked and what didn't to make your next hackathon even better.

The Result

Your next hackathon will have higher participation, better projects, and stronger leadership support because you turned feedback into action.

The 7-Day Post-Event Timeline

Day 0-1: Immediate Thank You

Within 24-48 hours

Send personalized thank you messages to all participants, judges, and sponsors. Share winning projects and highlight memorable moments.

  • Thank all participants via email/Slack
  • Share photos and winning project links
  • Post highlights on company channels
  • Tag participants in social posts

Day 2-3: Collect Feedback

Strike while memories are fresh

Send feedback survey to understand what worked, what didn't, and what to improve next time. Keep it short (5-7 questions max).

  • Overall satisfaction (1-10 scale)
  • What worked best?
  • What needs improvement?
  • Would you participate again?
  • Topic/theme suggestions for next time

Day 4-5: Team Retrospective

Document lessons learned

Meet with organizing team to reflect on what worked, what didn't, and what to do differently next time. Create action items.

  • What went well? (celebrate wins)
  • What could improve? (be honest)
  • What surprised us?
  • What should we stop/start/continue?
  • Action items for next hackathon

Day 6-7: Share Impact Report

Show leadership the value

Create executive summary with key metrics, winning projects, participant quotes, and next steps. This is how you get budget for next time.

  • Participation rate and demographics
  • Project outcomes and innovation metrics
  • Participant satisfaction scores
  • Photos and testimonials
  • Plans for next hackathon

Thank You Email Template

Subject: Thank you for making [Hackathon Name] unforgettable!

Hi [First Name],

Thank you for being part of [Hackathon Name]! Watching [X] teams turn ideas into working prototypes in [Y] hours was incredible.

Winning projects:

  • 🥇 [Project Name] - [One-line description] ([Team Names])
  • 🥈 [Project Name] - [One-line description] ([Team Names])
  • 🥉 [Project Name] - [One-line description] ([Team Names])

Check out [link to photos/recordings] for highlights from the day.

We'd love your feedback to make our next hackathon even better: [Survey link]

See you at the next one!
[Your Name]
[Your Title]

Post-Event Feedback Survey

Keep your survey short (5-7 questions) and focused. Here's what to ask:

1. Overall Satisfaction

"On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied were you with the hackathon?"

2. What Worked Best

"What was the best part of the hackathon?" (open-ended)

3. What Needs Improvement

"What should we improve for next time?" (open-ended)

4. Would Participate Again

"Would you participate in our next hackathon?" (Yes / Probably / Maybe / No)

5. Theme/Topic Suggestions

"What themes or topics would you like to see next time?" (open-ended)

Response tip: Offer a small incentive for completing the survey (e.g., "Enter to win a $25 gift card" or "First 20 responses get swag"). Aim for 40%+ response rate.

Key Metrics to Track

These metrics help you demonstrate impact to leadership and improve future hackathons:

Participation Metrics

  • Registration vs. actual participants (attendance rate)
  • Participant demographics (department, role, seniority)
  • Number of teams formed and team size distribution
  • First-time vs. repeat participants

Outcome Metrics

  • Number of projects submitted and completion rate
  • Projects that moved to production (6-month follow-up)
  • Innovation metrics (new features, cost savings, etc.)
  • Cross-functional collaboration instances

Satisfaction Metrics

  • Average satisfaction score (1-10 scale)
  • Net Promoter Score (would recommend to colleagues)
  • Judging transparency and fairness ratings
  • Intent to participate in next hackathon

Operational Metrics

  • Budget spent vs. planned (cost per participant)
  • Organizer time invested (setup + event + follow-up)
  • Technical issues encountered and resolution time
  • Survey response rate and feedback quality
HackHQ tracks this automatically: All participation metrics, voting results, and project outcomes are built into your dashboard with exportable reports. See the analytics

Retrospective Framework

Schedule a 60-minute retrospective with your organizing team within 5 days of the event. Use this framework:

The 4-Question Retro

1. What went well? (15 min)

Celebrate wins. What would you definitely repeat next time? What surprised you in a good way?

2. What could improve? (15 min)

Be honest about challenges. What caused stress or confusion? What complaints did you hear?

3. What surprised us? (10 min)

What assumptions were wrong? What unexpected things happened (good or bad)?

4. Action items for next time (20 min)

Convert insights into specific actions. Assign owners and deadlines. Document decisions.

Pro tip: Assign someone to take notes during the retro. Create a "Next Hackathon Playbook" document with all action items and lessons learned. You'll thank yourself when planning round 2.

Planning Your Next Hackathon

The best time to plan your next hackathon is right after finishing this one, while momentum is high and feedback is fresh.

When to Schedule Next Hackathon

Ideal cadence depends on your organization and goals:

  • Quarterly (3 months): Maintains momentum and keeps innovation top of mind
  • Biannual (6 months): Balanced approach with enough time to implement winning projects
  • Annual: Major event with bigger budget and more preparation time

How to Use Feedback

Turn feedback into action items for your next event:

  • If participants wanted more time: Extend hacking hours or add a prep week
  • If team formation was chaotic: Improve matching process or add networking session
  • If judging felt unclear: Publish criteria earlier and add judge Q&A session
  • If technical setup had issues: Switch tools or add more testing time

Building on Momentum

Keep the energy going between hackathons:

  • Share updates on winning projects ("Project X launched to customers!")
  • Announce next hackathon date 2-3 months in advance
  • Run smaller innovation events (lunch & learns, demo days)
  • Create Slack channel or community for hackers to connect

You've Completed the Guide!

You now have everything you need to plan and run a hackathon that teams will love. Ready to put it into action?

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