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How To Make A 30/60/90-Day Plan With Your Employees

By Conor McMahon - Jan. 19, 2023
jobs
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Summary. To make a 30/60/90-day plan, firstly, you need to understand how your new employee can fulfill certain needs of your organization, then use SMART goals, 30-day objectives, and consistent evaluation so that your plan is fair and attainable.

Once a new employee is hired, they might need help to become a fully functioning member of your company. This is where the 30/60/90-day plan can make life easier for them and yourself.

A 30/60/90-day plan is an efficient and effective way to organize your employee’s first three months. It saves your employee from feeling lost or wasting time trying to learn what to do. With the 30/60/90-day plan, they can focus on clear objectives that result in greater productivity and faster integration into the company.

Key Takeaways

  • Build your 30/60/90-day plan around the organization’s definition of success.

  • Break a 30/60/90-day plan into three 30-day phases that have their own clear objectives.

  • 30/60/90-day plans create clear expectations that create accountability.

  • Use quantifiable metrics to measure the success of a 30/60/90-day plan.

What Is a 30/60/90-Day Plan?

A 30/60/90-day plan is a set of objectives and strategies to be accomplished over a three-month period. It is usually used by businesses to onboard new employees to optimize productivity.

A good 30/60/90 plan follows several key points, including:

  • A 30/60/90-day plan built around the organization’s definition of success.

  • The goals of the 30/60/90 plan align with the goals of the company.

  • A 30/60/90-day plan acts as a resource and guides to evaluate an employee’s progress.

  • A 30/60/90-day plan is made up of three stages: the first 30 days, the following 30 days, and the last 30 days.

  • Each stage of a 30/60/90-day plan has its own objective.

A 30/60/90-day plan can be helpful in all industries and levels of professions. You may use a hypothetical 30/60/90-day plan during an interview with a job candidate to gauge their commitment. 30/60/90-day plans can also be used during later stages of an employee’s career, such as after an annual review or promotion.

How you use a 30/60/90-day plan depends on your situation. It is crucial that you tailor your 30/60/90-day plan to the specific needs of your organization, yourself, and your employee.

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How To Make A 30/60/90-Day Plan

To create a 30/60/90 day plan for your employees, you will want to:

  1. Create a 30/60/90-day plan template. Even though each 30/60/90-day plan should be unique to each employee, you will save yourself a lot of time if you have a 30/60/90-day plan template. This will provide the framework which you will fill in with specifics to achieve the aims of the plan.

  2. Understand yourself and your organization’s needs. A 30/60/90-day plan is used to direct an employee toward success. This success is defined by your organization and it is tied to your company’s overall success.

    Therefore you will want to understand how your employee helps you and your organization fulfill certain needs. To do this, make a list of all your needs, then prioritize the ones that are most relevant to your employee. Ask yourself questions such as:

    • What is the mission of our company?

    • How do I contribute to this mission?

    • How do my employees contribute to this mission?

    • What does success look like in the long term for my company, myself, and my employees?

    • What does success look like in the short term?

    • What needs to be done now to ensure progress?

    • What specific problems need to be addressed currently?

    Note that these questions are only general examples. It will benefit you to be specific to your situational needs to help add clarity to your 30/60/90-day plan.

  3. Define SMART goals. Now that you know what needs your employee must help fulfill, you must frame those needs as goals. A 30/60/90-day plan is only as good as its goals, so use the SMART goals method to set your employee up for success. SMART stands for:

    • Specific

    • Measurable

    • Attainable

    • Relevant

    • Time-bound

    These components create realistic goals that tie the success of your employee to the success of your company. SMART goals also provide clarity to your expectations which will help you monitor and evaluate your employee’s progress with their 30/60/90 day plan.

    SMART goals create a sense of fairness that you can be sure you and your employee are on the same page. It also will help to break down the goals into categories such as:

    • Learning goals

    • Performance goals

    • Personal goals

    From this, you can spot themes that can be prioritized in the 30/60/90-day plan.

  4. Identify the 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day objectives. Once you have the goals laid out, you want to arrange them in a logical manner over the course of the 30/60/90-day plan. The plan will use each stage to focus on a particular objective that builds off the previous one. Usually, for onboarding, each stage has the following purpose:

    • The 30-day objective is about learning. This means you’ll want your employee to focus on their training.

      Introduce your employee to tools, technology, and processes that get them situated into their role. Your employee should use this time to ask questions, shadow others, as well as be introduced to manageable projects.

    • The 60-day objective is about role-specific contributions. In the next 30 days, your employee should begin to implement their knowledge more confidently.

      This is still a learning phase, but it is one where there is less direct guidance. Your employee should begin to use their own initiative and skills to contribute to your organization’s mission.

    • The 90-day objective is about independence. By the end of the 30/60/90-day plan, both you and your employees should feel confident in their abilities to contribute fully to the team. You can hold them accountable to execute their job responsibilities without direct supervision.

      Of course, they may require your leadership and guidance from time to time, but no more than any of your other employees who are comfortable in their roles.

  5. Create a system of measurement, evaluation, and feedback. So you have the goals and objectives set up, but how can you tell if your employee is succeeding? You will need to set up benchmarks that clearly indicate progress. This is why the use of SMART goals and clearly defined objectives is so important. Some ways to help include:

    • Setting up weekly meetings or check-ins with the employee.

    • Creating performance metrics tied to the job description of the employee.

    • Creating a chart of action items that are listed by priority and time sensitivity.

    Find a way to unite daily tasks with long-term projects that add up to the successful completion of goals and objectives. Then monitor these tasks and projects as part of the 30/60/90 day plan.

Tips For Making A 30/60/90-Day Plan

As you come up with a 30/60/90-day plan for your employees, consider the following tips to guide you toward success:

  • Be specific, quantifiable, and fair. A 30/60/90-day plan needs to build up your employees, not tear them down. If your plan is vague or too demanding, your employees will be less productive because they will be less focused. Specific, quantifiable, and fair goals and objectives save both you and your employee time and energy.

  • Prioritize goals. It is likely you have a lot of goals for your employee; however, you need to be realistic and consider what can actually be accomplished in the 30/60/90-day plan. Prioritize based on needs and time sensitivity, and save all other goals for later.

  • Get feedback from employees. Your employees have an invaluable perspective on the 30/60/90-day process. They may have done it themselves and know what they liked or didn’t like. If you are creating a 30/60/90-day plan for the first time, you may need to ask for assistance from others in your company who have experience.

  • Embrace a growth mindset. A 30/60/90-day plan is all about growth, so keep a growth mindset during the process. Be open to new solutions and help your employees reframe challenges as opportunities.

  • Make adjustments when necessary. A rigid 30/60/90-day plan is likely to fail, so keep yours flexible. That does not mean you should abandon it. Instead, focus on the priorities and always pivot back to them when you find the plan is not working.

  • Make it easy to understand. Your employee should be able to use their 30/60/90-day plan as a guide, so be clear and concise in your format. Your employee should be able to see the logic behind each step and how it connects to their success and the success of the company.

  • Provide resources. There may be parts where further training or assistance is necessary, so provide appropriate resources that the employee can turn to if things get too complicated.

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The Benefits of a 30/60/90-Day Plan

There are many reasons why a 30/60/90 day plan is a great idea that you should strongly consider when you onboard new employees, such as:

  • Clarifies expectations. This will help you manage employees because you can all agree on what needs must be met. Additionally, employees are more focused and engaged when expectations are clear.

  • Incentivizes success. With everything laid out, your employees can look to their 30/60/90-day plans as a reminder of what needs to get done. They can also see how their actions contribute to the company. This, in turn, increases motivation.

  • Helps new employees feel comfortable. The start of a new job is never easy, so a 30/60/90-day plan helps guide a new hire into their role. It will tell them exactly what they need to do to be successful.

  • Builds trust. The effort you invest into a 30/60/90-day plan for your employees shows that you care about their success as much as your own. Your employees will feel better knowing that you are all in this together.

  • Increases productivity. A clearly defined 30/60/90-day plan saves you and your employees time and energy. You don’t have to spend every day figuring out what needs to get done and how to do it. Instead, your employees can focus on priorities and take the necessary steps that lead to success.

30/60/90 Day Plan Template

Here is a template you can use when drafting a 30/60/90-day plan. Make any necessary changes so that your plan is relevant and specific to your employees.

30/60/90 Day Plan
Name of employee:
Position:
Type of 30/60/90 Day Plan (onboarding, project management, or performance review):
Overall objective:

Days 1 – 30
Dates:
Objective:

Goal 1 (first priority):
Goal 1 tasks:
Goal 1 metrics:

Goal 2 (second priority):
Goal 2 tasks:
Goal 2 metrics:

Goal 3 (third priority):
Goal 3 tasks:
Goal 3 metrics:

Additional goals:
Additional tasks:
Additional metrics:

Resources:

Days 31 – 60
Dates:
Objective:

Goal 1 (first priority):
Goal 1 tasks:
Goal 1 metrics:

Goal 2 (second priority):
Goal 2 tasks:
Goal 2 metrics:

Goal 3 (third priority):
Goal 3 tasks:
Goal 3 metrics:

Additional goals:
Additional tasks:
Additional metrics:

Resources:

Days 61 – 90
Dates:
Objective:

Goal 1 (first priority):
Goal 1 tasks:
Goal 1 metrics:

Goal 2 (second priority):
Goal 2 tasks:
Goal 2 metrics:

Goal 3 (third priority):
Goal 3 tasks:
Goal 3 metrics:

Additional goals:
Additional tasks:
Additional metrics:

Resources:

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30/60/90 Day Plan FAQ

  1. Who creates a 30/60/90-day plan?

    A 30/60/90-day plan is created by either the supervisor or the employee. Preferably both should work together on the plan. This ensures that the plan meets the needs of everyone involved, including the company.

    For new employees, it is likely the hiring manager will create the 30/60/90-day plan since they will know more about what is to be done. However, even in this case, the hiring manager should consider the opinions of the new employee to create an effective plan.

  2. When do you use a 30/60/90-day plan?

    You can use a 30/60/90-day plan for onboarding a new employee, for project management, and for performance reviews. Additionally, you can prompt a job candidate during an interview to come up with their own 30/60/90-day plan to gauge their qualifications.

    30/60/90-day plans are useful because they break down long-term goals into short-term tasks with objectives that tie to a bigger picture.

  3. What should I include in a 30/60/90-day plan?

    A 30/60/90-day plan should include the following:

    • Objectives that contribute to organizational success.

    • SMART goals

    • Established metrics for success.

    • Education, training, or development of new ideas.

    These components are then used to guide an employee toward their overall goal of success.

  4. Who uses 30/60/90-day plans?

    Any employer or employee can use 30/60/90-day plans. However, they are most common for the onboarding process because they are efficient tools to help acclimate a new employee to their role.

    30/60/90 plans are also common for positions that deal with project management, such as sales, marketing, or software development. This is because 30/60/90-day plans are extremely useful when you need to monitor the success of a project, or multiple projects, over the course of several weeks.

References

  1. Office of Personnel Management – Supervisor’s Toolkit for Onboarding

Author

Conor McMahon

Conor McMahon is a writer for Zippia, with previous experience in the nonprofit, customer service, and technical support industries. He has a degree in Music Industry from Northeastern University and in his free time he plays guitar with his friends. Conor enjoys creative writing between his work doing professional content creation and technical documentation.

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