Want to know why your Reward and Recognition strategy doesn't work?

Ever heard of hedonic drift?

I'll maybe do a longer series in the R&R space now that I'm thinking about all the many reasons why it might not be doing what you hoped, but for today I want to focus on why all the stuff that used to work for you, isn't any more.

The Hedonic Treadmill refers to the fact that we quickly adapt to whatever we are exposed to. That is, once a good thing becomes an ongoing good thing, it becomes an expectation rather than a perk.

This is why your Christmas bonuses went from "OMG yay thank you so much!" the first year to "Ooo, I hope we get one" the second year, to "OMFG how DARE they not give me one?" by year three.

It's why buying the team pizza on a hard day stopped working years ago, and now they roll their eyes and say it's a symptom of you not really caring but wanting to look like you do.

And why that time you added more staff because people were feeling under-resourced and you wanted to help, now just ends in them wanting more staff to solve every problem.

The problem is, the 'thank you' or 'supportive extra' stopped being a nice thing and became an entitlement. This isn't their fault; hedonic drift is a biologically normal brain process to help us cope with hard times (it goes in the other direction too). But now all your efforts no longer bring joy, or surprise, or delight.

When I was a new GM at a specialist clinic I was asked by a staff member to approve the budget to buy everyone easter eggs next week. Obviously I had no problem with spending the budget, but as soon as she said "they get it every year; there'll be a riot if we don't do it" I was pretty much committed to not doing it.

Lo and behold, people did talk in the lead up to Easter about why they didn't arrive to one neatly placed in their locker for them.

But instead, I used the same budget to have a white, dark, and milk chocolate fountain in the staff room, with strawberries and marshmallows and dipping pretzels.

Suddenly, joy. Interest. Conversation. Gratitude for the effort.

It wasn't about me refusing to buy easter eggs, it was me refusing to let a 'nice thing to do' become an entitlement. If it doesn't spark joy, it probably no longer has an impact on engagement or feeling valued.

So next time you're wanting to offer a pick-me-up on a tough day, skip the pizza and consider an ice cream truck. Next time you're planning Donut Tuesdays, bring a charcuterie board instead. Instead of the Christmas party at the local pub, take everyone's kids to Adventure World.

Before you spend any money or time on things you hope will help people feel valued, consider Marie Kondo: will this spark joy?

Need some help with Reward and Recognition strategies that work? You know where to find me :-)