Canadian HR Expert Series: Tiffany Smye

We launched this series to celebrate Canadian HR leaders, the people doing some of the hardest work in business. HR is often misunderstood. It’s the force shaping company culture, leadership, and performance.

Meet Tiffany Smye

Tiffany Smye is a results-driven people and talent leader with over 20 years of experience helping organizations navigate growth, change, and complexity. She’s held senior roles at some of Canada’s most recognized organizations, including RBC, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), Deloitte and the University of Toronto.

Known for her ability to turn strategy into action, Tiffany has built her career partnering with leaders to solve business challenges through people, process, and culture. Today, she’s taking an intentional pause, completing her coaching certification, supporting leaders with HR advisory through TCS Talent Consulting, and reflecting on where she can make the biggest impact next.

From Supply Chain to HR

Tiffany didn’t plan on a career in HR. In fact, she laughs looking back.

“I was sure I’d end up in supply chain,” she says. “I loved procurement, negotiation, and understanding consumer behavior. I had an economics background and thought that’s where I was heading.”

But an early opportunity with a supply chain executive search firm in Toronto rewrote her plans. "I told them I’d join as long as I didn’t have to sell anything, which of course, was my first mistake. Because we always need to sell to be successful. Even in HR, we’re selling ideas, strategies, and solutions to the business."

What started as a recruitment role quickly grew into something bigger. Tiffany expanded the firm’s presence in the UK but realized she wanted to go deeper than filling roles. She wanted to build something lasting.

It wasn’t until she joined RBC that she fully embraced HR as her calling. "At RBC, I saw what great HR could really be. It was partnering with the business, building strategy, and helping leaders succeed. That’s when I really started taking pride in being in HR."

Taking the Leap to Lead Through Uncertainty

After years in HR leadership Tiffany made a career move that, on paper, didn’t make much sense to most people. She joined MLSE, a sports and entertainment company, at a time when the industry had come to a complete standstill. Arenas were closed. Teams weren’t playing. The entire business model was in flux.

"It wasn’t the obvious move," she says. "But I knew I wanted to build something new."

What she walked into was a generalist HR model under strain. She saw the opportunity to create a structure that could provide focus and support through chaos. From talent acquisition to leadership development to performance enablement, she helped build systems designed to last beyond the immediate crisis.

HR as a Series of Sprints, not a Marathon

Tiffany is vocal about the unsustainable pace of modern HR. The past few years have brought wave after wave of challenges. Pandemic response, hybrid work, wellness, EDI, and now AI.

"We often treat HR like a marathon, but the reality is that marathons leave people physically drained at the finish line," she says. "We need to start thinking in terms of sprints. Focused effort. Then rest. Then reset."

This isn’t just about wellbeing. It’s about impact. "You can’t sustain great work without time to pause. If we want HR to be strategic, we need to give ourselves space to think."

Impact Versus Urgency

That urgency to do it all, she believes, is one of HR’s biggest obstacles.

"We try to do everything, but the truth is we can’t and we shouldn’t," Tiffany says. "You need to pause, get clear on what drives the most impact, and focus your energy there."

The expectation to manage everything, recruitment, culture, compliance, technology, performance, and now AI is unrelenting. But she believes strategic HR is about discernment, not volume.

"Every organization has noise. Our job is to help cut through it. That’s what makes HR effective. Not how much we take on, but how intentionally we choose what to tackle."

AI is a Tool, not the Answer

With AI top of mind for HR teams everywhere, Tiffany offers a grounded perspective.

"HR professionals are being told they need to understand AI or risk becoming obsolete. But the truth is, HR has been fast to adopt AI and most of us are already using it."

She encourages teams to experiment with it in small ways. Drafting emails, analyzing feedback, and checking language inclusivity, but warns against outsourcing critical thinking.

"AI can make work faster, not smarter. That part still comes from you. Trust, but verify. Use the tools, but keep your voice and raise the quality bar."

Coaching Leaders to Unlock Potential

Tiffany’s favourite part of HR? Helping leaders see themselves clearly and grow.

"There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing a leader get unstuck," she says. "It’s not about having all the answers. It’s about helping them find clarity so they can lead with purpose."

She believes leadership today is less about control and more about alignment. "Transparency isn’t telling your team everything. It’s sharing what they need, when they need it, so they can do their jobs well."

It’s this blend of honesty, intention, and strategic clarity that drives better outcomes across teams.

One Last Piece of Advice

Tiffany lives by a simple motto: If you’re not learning, you’re not living.

"Every conversation, every challenge, every mistake is an opportunity to learn. But the biggest lesson I’ve learned is this: you can’t do it alone. HR is a team sport."

She believes the best HR work happens when teams build real partnerships across the business, invest in themselves, and create space for reflection.

"Stop trying to solve everything at once. Focus on what matters most. Build champions to help you get there. And don’t forget to breathe along the way."

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