The HR Strategy is the backbone of all HR related issues. Everything is tied to the strategy developed in the beginning, and it has long-term impacts on all operations happening in the company. A solid strategy is there to strengthen all company’s operations. It is there to set objectives of what should be done, how, by whom and with what results.

The HR Strategy is aligning the goals of HR to the goals or strategy of theorganization and it answers the question “What”:When establishing HR strategy, factors that need to be considered are the employee’s culture, skills and possibilities, organizations structure and actions, and all HR systems including e.g. employee selection, communications, training, rewards, and career development.

On the other hand, the HR Policy answers to the question “How”. In fact, policies are parts of a strategy. Each company is individual and has different processes. HR policies are there to support administrative personnel functions, performance management, employee relations and human resource planning. Policies support and build up desired organizational culture. They are made up of regulations and exact decisions established by the organization. Policies are there also to keep employees up-to-date on organizations nature, ethics, expectations, behavior and consequences. This is also an effective tool for risk management.

HR Planning means planning HR activities to be supportive towards the company’s future goals. HR management needs to develop in line with the organization, so, when planning, the company needs to check where they are at, and where they want to be in the future and plan the strategy and policies in accordance to that. HR planning is linked with HR management and the organization’s overall strategy.

Example: McDonald’s
Since 1937, the Fast Food Chain “McDonald’s”has developed as an innovative form of food