Totally Rewarding Chats | Ep. 26: Rewards from the CPO Seat - Roast Paul edition

In this episode, Paul and Sean sit down with Jesper Helt, a global HR leader, to rethink how rewards actually drive business impact.

Jesper shares the moment he realized up to 80% of HR spend lives in rewards and how that changed the way he approaches every decision. The conversation covers why data storytelling makes compensation easier to act on, how flexibility leads to stronger pay programs, and where data needs real-world context to be useful.

They also challenge traditional ideas of benchmarking and success in rewards, digging into the role of human behavior, transparency, and questioning the status quo.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Jesper Helt and His Background

11:01 The CHRO Perspective on Rewards

20:56 Skills and Qualities of Effective Rewards Professionals

26:37 The Exclusion Principle in Compensation

27:41 Rethinking Reward Structures

28:51 Simplifying Compensation Approaches

29:43 The Science of Quotas and Performance

31:47 The Complexity of Performance Measurement

33:40 The Role of Transparency in HR

35:36 Learning from Past Compensation Decisions

37:47 Designing Compensation Programs with Psychology

39:49 The Importance of Recognition in HR

41:47 Personal Stories and Leadership Lessons

47:43 Radical Transparency in HR Practices