Tiersa’s Take On HR in the Islands

Meet Tiersa Smith-Hall, she is CSHRP’s country coordinator for the enchanting island of Turks and Caicos. She is an experienced HR professional with personalized skills in Negotiation, Emotional Intelligence, Company Culture and Change, Talent Management, Payroll, and Hotel Management. Mrs. Smith-Hall is presently a Corporate Trainer, Behavior & Culture Specialist, Life Enthusiast and the Director of Human Resources for The Hartling Group.

Q&A:

-What is your favorite thing about CSHRP and how it has benefited you?

“My favorite thing about CSHRP is that it has allowed me to connect to HR Professionals all over the Caribbean. This very act allows for better networking, sharing of ideas but more importantly it allows for increasing the pride and passion in the field of Human Resources.”

-When did you know you love HR?

“I knew I loved HR when I was completing the last semester of my bachelor’s degree in International Relations. I took an elective course in Organizational Behavior & HR and the very first paragraph of textbook defined it as a field of study about how people and groups behave in organizations. That definition gave me the perspective because that has always been who I am, always interested in, speaking up for and resolving conflict among people. I changed my academic focus by Mastering in Human Resources immediately after graduating and the rest is history. It’s a great feeling to find your niche because you wake every day excited to go to work and make an impact!”

-How do you define success and what drives you to succeed? 

“Success is the commitment to making a positive impact professionally, personally or spiritually. If something is bad, you commit to making it to good, if it is already good, you commit to making it great. If you endeavor to do this in every aspect of your life, you may not always achieve it, but you will be successful because you made every effort to see it happen. Being able to make a difference and to see people satisfied drives me to succeed.”

-What do you feel proudest of in your career?

“I feel most proud of being one of the first HR professionals in Turks and Caicos to sit on an Executive Board in the Hospitality Industry. It is has allowed me to give strategy and insight an attention to bring valuable change to the organization and its employees. I am also most proud of the commitment I made to groom and train young HR professionals to eventually grow to become managers and leaders within and outside of our organization.”

-What lesson in your life has been the most valuable?

“The most valuable lesson I have learnt in life is to always seek to understand and embrace the differences in people. When you do this, you unlock so much more possibilities to truly lead teams and bring out the best in not only them, but yourself. It is by far one of the most rewarding things in life.”

-What is one piece of advice would you give to graduates looking to become an accomplished HR professional like you?

“For graduates looking to be accomplished HR professionals I would say, internships during college are a must and when you interview for your first HR Role make it a point to clarify the need for transparency and communication especially with regard to your feelings and ethics. If you do this at the beginning stages, it is what will be expected, and it will make your job as the intermediary body between employee and employer much easier.”

-What is your dream for CSHRP?

“My dream for CSHRP is that it will not only unify HR professionals all across the Caribbean. But as HR Professionals, we will make a true impact on governmental laws and policies, ordinances and make changes that will help employees perform at their best, organizations run fair and smoother operational policies and that we be the key influence in persuading organizations to move towards best practices and nurturing healthy, prosperous and mutually benefitting relationships with their employees.”