Why Your FoF (Face of Finance) is Crashing the HR Party - And Why You Should Be Thrilled

She came, She was seen, She survived!

Jo (aka the FoF) at
The HR Big Meet 2025

Oh look, there it is, the surprising sight of a finance professional at an HR Conference.

Yes that’s me. Jo Bailey, the FoF!

It might surprise you to know that Finance and HR are natural partners. Both:

• optimise resources (albeit different types)

• are now viewed as strategic business partners

• need to show ROI (return on investment)

• are working towards the same organisational goals

Does it not make sense to work together?

To do that we need to enter each other’s world, and I’ve done just that.

How I found my way from finance spreadsheets to HR hearts

Two years ago…

I was that finance person, excited about budgets, sitting in meetings with people who quite frankly found the whole thing a challenge. I’ve seen the glazed looks, the subtle withdrawal, the way conversations would shift around them rather than include them.

Something wasn’t right with this picture.

After 36 years in finance I found myself asking the question that changed everything: "Is this it?"
I was disenfranchised, restless, knowing I had more to give but not sure where or how.

Then came June 2023.

I stumbled into my first Power Up session with Kelly Swingler - a LinkedIn connection - that felt like serendipity. I walked into a room of mainly HR professionals expecting to feel like the odd one out, the numbers person crashing the people party.

Instead, something magical happened. I found myself sitting next to Michelle Hartley - an irreverent HR rebel who became the rainbow to the storm clouds in my mind.

For the first time in years, I felt seen. Heard. Accepted. These weren’t just HR professionals - they were my people.
I’d found my tribe.

I kept going back because, well, you can never have too much Kelly Swingler in your life, can you?

Three more Power Up sessions, each time meeting incredible people who were passionate about making work better for everyone. Each time feeling more certain that this was where I belonged, even if I couldn’t quite articulate why.

Jo speaking at the Evolving HR 2024 conference

The “why” came in February 2024.

Dotty Day was at that session. I’d left my corporate job the previous November, knowing I wanted to do something meaningful but unclear what that something was.

As we talked after the session, she said seven words that changed my trajectory:

"I could do with someone like you."

Seven words. That’s all it took.

Those words sparked a research mission that became a revelation. HR professionals were crying out for exactly what I could offer - someone who speaks both languages, who understands both worlds, who could bridge the gap that had frustrated me for decades.

But knowing you have something to offer and having the confidence to offer it are two very different things.

May 2024: The HR Big Meet

I found myself at the HR Big Meet, still figuring out how to turn this revelation into reality. That’s where I met Emma Djemal. Something about her energy, her message about amplifying impact, resonated deeply.

I knew I had insights worth sharing, but I also knew I needed to find my voice in this new world.

So, I took the leap and joined Emma’s Amplify Your Impact programme.

It wasn’t just about learning to speak up - it was about learning to speak out with purpose and confidence. The programme gave me the tools to transform my finance expertise into something HR professionals could truly use, and more importantly, the courage to step into rooms where I might be the only finance person and know I belonged there.

I discovered HR professionals being told to "be more commercial" with no roadmap for what that means.
I found talented, strategic thinkers still fighting to move beyond administrative perceptions, still trying to earn their seat at the decision-making table rather than just receiving instructions to implement other people’s choices.

The irony was beautiful:

Here I was, a finance professional who’d spent years wishing HR understood the numbers side, discovering that HR professionals had spent just as long wishing they felt confident enough to engage with those same numbers.

We needed each other.

That’s when I knew my mission: to help bridge this ridiculous, historical divide. To help HR professionals become the confident, commercial voices their organisations desperately need. To prove that finance and HR aren’t opposing forces - we’re natural allies who’ve been speaking different languages for far too long.

So yes, I’m the finance person at the HR conference. And I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

The conference isn’t just where I show up as the face of finance - it’s where we collectively address one of the hidden stressors in HR work and build the supportive partnerships that make everyone’s job more fulfilling.

Jo ready to ignite new HR x Finance partnerships

Let’s bridge that gap together

Seeing Finance represented at an HR conference feels like a small victory – but it’s just the beginning.

Every conversation I had reinforced what I already knew: there’s a massive opportunity to strengthen the partnership between Finance and HR, and it starts with building confidence on both sides.

If you’re an HR professional who’s ever felt intimidated by financial conversations, wished you could speak more confidently about budgets and ROI, or wanted to become more commercially minded in your approach – I’m here for it. This is exactly the gap I’m passionate about bridging.

Ready to take the next step?

I’d love to continue these conversations beyond the conference walls. Whether you’re looking to:

• Build your financial confidence for better stakeholder conversations

• Understand how to make more compelling business cases

• Develop a more commercial mindset in your HR strategy

• Simply connect with someone who gets both worlds

The beauty of being at that HR conference as the "Face of Finance" wasn’t just about representing my field – it was about showing that we’re stronger when we work together.

My mission to help HR professionals gain confidence in finance and become more commercially savvy continues, one conversation at a time.

Don’t let this momentum fade. Reach out, and let’s turn that conference connection into real collaboration and I’ll see you at the next one.

Looking forward to hearing from you.