Jane Waters and Tracey Rowe, co-founders of fractional HR services company 52.com, explain why business is not just about the numbers for CFOs – it’s about unlocking the value of people.
We’re not talking about standard HR processes or glossy culture posters. We’re talking about real, measurable business transformation that starts and ends with how your people think, feel, behave and perform. That’s where we come in.
At 52.com, we are not consultants. We are two ex-HR directors with 30+ years each of global, board-level HR leadership experience. We’ve worked closely with CFOs, CEOs, business owners and investors across continents, and now – through our fractional HR model – we work with growing, ambitious businesses going through inflection points: investment, acquisition, international expansion or post- merger transformation.
We believe HR is not a support function. Done right, it’s a core strategic and commercial lever. And our clients prove this every day.
A successful South African investment fund – scaling across Africa – brought us in when the leadership team hit what they called a “people tipping point”. Tensions within the executive committee were costing productivity. Culture was fractured. HR barely existed, managed off the side of a CFO’s desk.
Over 18 months, we helped re-anchor the business. We diagnosed systemic issues, facilitated culture and values workshops using “appreciative inquiry”, coached the leadership team and built a pragmatic people strategy. From foundational HR systems and compliance to performance frameworks and internal communications, we built a culture that could carry the weight of their ambition.
For the CFO, the result was a less reactive leadership team, lower people risk and a clear roadmap to support growth – without the cost of a full-time executive HR function.
When retention hurts delivery
In another example, a dynamic 90-person services business approached us with a clear goal: to become the leading employer in their industry. Their retention challenges were hurting delivery. Engagement was patchy. HR needed help – quickly.
We worked across all levels of the business, gathering employee insights and facilitating full-team values workshops. We then co-designed a robust engagement and learning strategy, aligned to the company’s values and built to scale. From job architecture and competency frameworks to wellbeing programmes and a flexible benefits strategy – all of it linked back to performance and retention.
Twelve months later, the business improved retention, elevated leadership accountability, and was recognised externally for their employer brand. The CFO now had a stronger EVP and a healthier bottom line.
What makes 52.com different?
We don’t arrive with off-the-shelf solutions. We build practical, bespoke strategies grounded in your reality – and we do this with commercial, operational and board-level context and underpinned by your culture and values. We’re not another consultancy. We’re an HR partner – fractional, flexible and focused on helping you get the most out of your people without over-engineering the process.
Our model works particularly well when:
You’ve just taken on investment or are preparing for due diligence.
Your business is growing fast and needs to scale its people practices.
Culture is not aligned, and it’s starting to hurt performance.
Your HR team needs coaching and a strategic partner.
You need executive HR insight but don’t require a full-time HR director.
We currently work across South Africa, East Africa and the Middle East with a number of clients – many of them CFO, CEOs and business owners, seeking strategic people leadership on a fractional basis.
You are custodians of value. And people – when aligned, developed, and engaged – create extraordinary value.
Tracey Rowe holds a master’s in leadership, performance and change management, and has been HR director for various international investment banks. Jane Waters is an experienced HR leader with global experience in professional services, investment banking and hospitality.
