10 quick(ish) questions with Jon Sannes 

Ahead of Energize Copenhagen, we sat down with Jon Sannes – a self-proclaimed “Reward Nerd” and one of the leading voices in pay transparency across the Nordics. With over 20 years of experience in reward, Jon has helped organizations design fair, competitive, and business-aligned reward strategies. From founding Nordic Reward Partners to co-creating the Pay Transparency Alliance, his work sits at the intersection of regulation, data, and real-world impact.  
 

In this edition of 10 quick(ish) questions, Jon shares his perspective on pay transparency, the future of reward, and what it really takes to build trust through fair pay.  

1. How would you introduce yourself?     
 

“My name is Jon Sannes, and I’m a self-confessed Reward Nerd. I have worked in the reward space for more than 20 years, both as a consultant and as a specialist, helping companies create actionable insights, transparent and competitive reward structures, and pragmatic solutions that align with business realities and goals.  

In 2020, I founded Nordic Reward Partners, and from the get-go, we have focused on pay transparency and the underlying structures that support pay equity. This work led me to become a co-founder of the Pay Transparency Alliance, together with Benifex and others — a network of consultancies and providers from across Europe, all working in the pay equity space. This journey has also led me to host the Reward Nerds podcast, which explores various aspects of reward and pay transparency.  

As a Norwegian living in Copenhagen, I have a pan-Nordic mindset and facilitate reward networks across the region. Over the past two years, I’ve also been co-founder and Chairman of PayGap, a Danish start-up that has developed a software solution specifically designed to support the EU Pay Transparency Directive.”  

2. What will you be speaking about at Energize Copenhagen?  
 

“I’ll be joining a panel discussion focused on how perceptions of fairness shift when salaries become visible, and the resulting leadership challenges. We’ll explore the psychological perspective on pay transparency, the change management efforts ahead, and how this new transparent salary setting landscape changes the dynamics between employees and organizations, an aspect I find really interesting.”  
 

3. Why is it important?  
 

“The Pay Transparency Directive represents the biggest change in HR in decades, and it shifts the power balance in the workplace. Leaders are facing new challenges as employees are empowered to talk about their pay and pay progression, which in turn changes expectations across the entire employee lifecycle. The psychological aspect is equally fascinating, because leaders are employees too, and as such, they face a double challenge in this transition, and the fact that employees are given access to compare their own salary with the average instead of median of their peer group makes for a curious blunder that I think we as Reward Nerds will have a lot of “fun” trying to tackle in the coming years.”   
 

4. What’s the most controversial thing you’ll say on stage?  
 

“That HR has been sleeping for decades, and has to (re)claim their space by taking their share in leadership. There is no logical reason that Finance, Legal, and IT again and again have a larger stake in the executive teams…. What company does not claim “People are our most important asset”? And where are “salaries” not the highest cost of the company? Combine the two, and HR should be a strategic top priority. I have never seen a company stating “Legal Compliance is our most important asset” on their homepage…. “ 
 

5. What’s one thing HR leaders believe that you think is completely wrong?  
 

“Honestly, I think it’s more interesting to point out the one thing all employees seem to think about HR, which is completely wrong: that HR is there for the employees. Anyone who works in HR knows we’re there for the management. Sad? Perhaps. But true. Sad, but true…“ 
 

6. Which HR trend do you think is the most overrated – and why?  
 

“KPIs – I have yet to see a KPI structure that actually works. If a company wants a setup that truly connects employees and business goals, it needs to be less generic and make personal sense to those involved.”  
 

 7. What’s the biggest mistake organizations make when trying to improve employee experience?  
 

“They forget to involve the employees. Employee experience is one of those buzzwords that consultants promote to sell projects to management, and they end up as dusty PowerPoints, forgotten in a drawer, rather than a lived experience on the shop floor.”  
 

8. If you could change one thing about how companies work with HR, what would it be?  
 

“I’d recommend all companies have a Reward specialist who connects the softer goals of the HR department with the hard-core goals of the Finance department; a go-between who can translate between these two, often very separate worlds, and make sure the salary setting processes and pay philosophy actually support the business goals in real life and not just on paper. Too often, HR takes a backseat to Finance, and in my view, this is a huge mistake – after all, we represent how the company spends about 70% of its costs.”  
 

9. What’s one thing HR leaders should stop doing in 2026?  
 

“HR leaders should stop being shy and start making their voices heard in the C-level organization. Why is it that most HR projects require a full business case to be produced and still get turned down, when Finance has the privilege of simply doing what needs to be done without needing to ask permission? HR needs to take the power back.”  
 

10. If you could give just one piece of advice to an HR leader who wants to stay ahead of the curve, what would it be?  
 

“Understand the art of Rewards, and stop excusing yourself and asking for influence – claim your natural space. By bringing numbers/rewards to the table, the CFO and CEO are all ears in a new way. Data-driven HR is not just about metrics of employee retention; make it matter.”  
 

Want to learn more about how pay transparency is reshaping the future of reward? Don’t miss Jon at Energize Copenhagen, where he’ll share practical insights on how organizations can move from compliance to real impact – building trust, fairness, and stronger business outcomes along the way.  

Event details 

Place: Danish Architecture Center, Copenhagen 
Date: 17 April 
Time: Afternoon session (exact timings shared upon registration) 

Reserve your place 

Seats are limited, and we’d love to see you there. Register here now to secure your spot and join the conversation!