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What is a 30-60-90 day plan?

6 benefits of a 30-60-90 day plan, when to use a 30-60-90 day plan, what to include in a 30-60-90 day plan, 30-60-90 day plan template for managers, 9 tips for creating a 30-60-90 day plan.

"The more I help out, the more successful I become. But I measure success in what it has done for the people around me. That is the real accolade." Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and BetterUp Science Board Advisor 

When it comes to setting your people up for success, a little help goes a long way. How are you setting up your workforce to reach its full potential ? 

Well, if you ask any leader, a lot of it comes down to helping your employees think strategically from the start. It’s beyond finishing a project, solving a problem, or completing the menial, day-to-day tasks.

Of course, the day-to-day duties help to get work done. But it’s also helping your employees connect their day-to-day to the larger purpose of work . Why does that purpose matter? How does their work connect to the organization’s goals, mission, or purpose? 

When I first started at BetterUp, my manager shared a fully fleshed-out spreadsheet and Google document as part of my 30-60-90 day plan. In these resources, there were targets to hit, milestones to reach, and tasks to complete. 

But more importantly than the line items was the sentiment: the strategy behind the 30-60-90 day plan helped to set me up for success. It was that extra mile to help out a new hire that allowed me to onboard successfully to my new role. And it was the help I needed to see the larger vision of how my work connected to organizational success , even if I didn’t fully know it yet. 

When we think about helping others around us be successful, having a plan is critical. In fact, 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they had a good onboarding experience.

Having a roadmap for the first three months can help your employees acclimate to the company culture. It'll also help them ramp up to the role and meaningfully connect with others — and ultimately lead to better performance.  

Sure, the plan might change. After all, we’re in a rapidly changing world where plans are often etched in pencil instead of stamped in pen. But if you’re hiring new employees or onboarding teammates, it’s important to give your workforce a sense of where you want to see them go. 

In this post, we’ll walk through what makes a good 30-60-90 day plan. We’ll also talk about the benefits of a good plan — and even give a template example to help you help your employees. 

Download The Connection Crisis: Why community matters in the new world of work

First, let’s understand what defines a 30-60-90 day plan. The 30-60-90 plan is a key part of a robust onboarding process . And in remote and hybrid work environments, the onboarding process is more important than ever. It’s critical that in these early days of onboarding, you’re building culture and connection with your new employees. 

A 30-60-90 day plan is a document or resource that outlines the goals and strategies for a new employee within the first 90 days. It serves as a guide, a resource, and a checklist for your new hires.

When a new employee joins your organization, there’s likely a stage of information overload. In the onboarding process, the employee absorbs a lot of information. They might be networking and setting up coffee chats with other employees. They’re probably in a good chunk of training sessions and other sorts of new hire workshops. 

Depending on how your organization runs the onboarding process, your employees are likely trying to ramp up in their new roles. At the same time, they're also soaking in everything they can about the organization. All while your employees are acclimating to the new role, they’re also making connections. Or, at least, they should be.

In short: it’s a lot. It can feel overwhelming to retain all the information a new hire receives. Sometimes, it can lead to confusion or misalignment on overall goals. 

But with a 30-60-90 day plan, you’re able to clearly outline the expectations you have for your employee. As a manager, it’s a useful resource and tool to help keep the onboarding process on track. It can also serve as an accountability tool, one where you can ensure your employees are meeting your expectations. 

Let’s talk more about what benefits come with a clearly outlined 30-60-90 day plan. 

30-60-90-day-plan-woman-shaking-hands-in-wheelchair

There are plenty of benefits to a 30-60-90 day plan, for both the employer and the employee. Here are six of our favorite benefits to consider. 

  • It helps optimize productivity  

It sets clear expectations 

  • It helps with goal setting  

It can help alleviate the new job jitters 

It empowers employees to self-manage their work , it serves as a reminder of priorities , it helps optimize productivity .

Ashley Ballard, social media manager, BetterUp, shared why a 30-60-90 day helped their productivity in the first three months of work. 

“I'm someone who benefits from an itemized list of expectations so that I’m not hindering my productivity by feeling anxious about my work product. It also keeps everyone on the same page about the meaning behind your role and how you will directly support team goals.” Ashley Ballard, social media manager  

As you’ll notice in some of these benefits of a 30-60-90 day plan, there’s a lot of overlap in what makes an employee productive. For Ashley, it’s clear expectations, alignment on the role, and clear communication about the priorities at hand. One could argue that all the benefits of a 30-60-90 day plan can contribute to overall increased productivity . 

It doesn’t get much clearer than getting a document of expectations in written form. At BetterUp, our 30-60-90 day plans come with a “checkbox” field to notch once you’ve completed the task at hand. 

Clear expectations can be hard to set, especially at the nebulous start of someone’s employment in a new role. But with a 30-60-90 day plan, you’re able to clearly outline your expectations as a manager. 

It helps with goal setting 

On my 30-60-90 day plan, I had a list of more administrative or mundane tasks. For example, I needed to upload my information into our HR management system. I needed to review the necessary policies and documents. I needed to set my email signature with the appropriate information. 

But it also outlined higher-level objectives. As a marketer and writer, I needed to learn the BetterUp voice, tone, and perspective. My manager clearly outlined blogs and resources that I could read, practice assignments that I could take on, and even some videos to watch. In fact, one of my goals was to write a blog within 30 days. 

Many of the new hire checklist items served as foundational tasks to get to me my goal. And by providing me with all the information at once, I could more easily connect the dots to the “why” behind some of the work I was receiving, too. 

Have you ever started a new job and not really know what you’re supposed to do with yourself? 

In my last job, I attended a half-day new hire orientation . I still remember going back to my desk upstairs, meeting my new manager, sitting down, and logging into my computer. I played around with my systems and got myself set up on my laptop. But after about an hour, I found myself spinning my chair around to my new boss and asking if I could help with anything. 

Frankly, I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing with myself. I felt that instant anxiety of not contributing anything meaningful, even though it was just my first day. 

There’s a lot of inherent pressure, stress, and anxiety that comes with starting a new job. New job anxiety is totally normal. It happens to all of us.

No matter how great we felt through the hiring process , on top of the world with our offer letter, as the new kid you can feel at loose ends pretty quickly. You waste time in self-doubt or doing unimportant tasks to look busy and loose confidence and momentum. But one way to help alleviate the jitters your employees are feeling is by giving them a plan. 

Ashley Strahm, content marketing manager, BetterUp, shared why she finds having set milestones in place can help reduce anxiety . 

“I’ve come to experience onboarding as a time where folks are the most hungry, curious, enthusiastic, and eager to please. Having a plan with milestones from the outset means that none of the initial emotions that come with starting a new job overwhelm or cause scattered or inefficient outreach — and anxiety about performance."  Ashley Strahm, content marketing manager

Without a 30-60-90 day plan, you couldn’t possibly have made the connections or digested the right resources to help quell those productivity nerves. And without it, you risk a big loss. Those early days are when new hires have the freshest eyes. It’s the best and most optimal opportunity to ask your new hires to observe and provide feedback. 

I’ve never heard of a manager that wants to hold their employees’ hands through every project. Sure, there are micromanagers who like to stay close to their employees’ work. 

But at BetterUp, we’re big believers in giving employees autonomy to self-manage their work. We talk about this in the context of some of our high-impact behaviors: extreme ownership, bias toward action, craftspersonship, and work to learn. 

30-60-90-day-plan-employee-at-work-smiling

Managers also need their time to focus on high-impact work and priorities. So when it comes to onboarding a new employee, it’s not plausible to walk your new hire through everything they need to know. And if you were to do so, it certainly wouldn't set them up for success. 

A 30-60-90 day plan empowers your employees to self-manage their work. By leveraging a 30-60-90 day plan as part of your onboarding strategy, you’re giving your employees autonomy to build their own schedules. It helps give them the roadmap but how they get to the final destination is up to them. 

Hand-in-hand with self-management comes managing priorities. We all know that work is busy. As your employees become more acclimated to the role, it’s likely their workload is gradually increasing. 

But with a 30-60-90 day plan, your employees are reminded of their priorities. And it’s on your employees to manage their priorities effectively, which is a good life and work muscle to flex. 

So, you might be wondering when to use a 30-60-90 day plan. When is it most effective? What situations will it have the most impact? Let’s dig in. 

30-60-90 day plan for an interview 

Job seekers, this is for you. If you want to knock the socks off a potential employer, consider putting together a 30-60-90 day plan for your interview. Even if it’s just an informational interview , you can show how you’d approach your first 90 days on the job. 

For example, let’s say you’re interviewing for a sales position. From the job description and from your informational interview, you know what markets you’ll be focused on. You also know about some target accounts and have a good sense of the industry.

While you might not know exactly what you are going to be doing, you have a good idea. You’ve worked in software sales for a while, enough to know how to approach breaking into a new market. 

So, you decide to come up with a proposed 30-60-90 day plan. You put together a rough sketch in a Google sheet about what you would focus on in your new role . 

30-60-90 day plan for a new job

More commonly, 30-60-90 day plans are used in the onboarding process. This is useful for both hiring managers and employees. For example, at BetterUp, I received my 30-60-90 day plan on my first day of employment. It helped to set expectations about what I would be focused on for the next three months. 

But some companies also use 30-60-90 day plans for things like performance reviews or even lateral moves within the organization. You can also use 30-60-90 day plans for project-based initiatives. 

First, it’s important to understand that 30-60-90 day plans should be personalized based on the employee. For example, a new employee in an entry-level position will probably have a radically different plan than that of a new executive. 

And 30-60-90 day plans for managers are going to look different than plans for individual contributors. There are nuances to these sorts of plans because of job responsibilities, work goals , expectations, and experience. 

But generally speaking, we can outline four key components of a 30-60-90 day plan. 

Expectations and concrete goals 

Go-to resources and information .

  • New hire checklist or to-do list  
  • Company mission, culture, the purpose of work  

Every 30-60-90 day plan should have clear expectations and concrete goals. As a manager, it’s important to clearly communicate the expectations you have for your employees. For example, my manager has created a couple of documents that very clearly outline the expectations of her employees. 

Oftentimes, expectations serve as the foundation for your working relationships. As part of my 30-60-90 day plan, my manager also asked about my expectations. In a lot of ways, it’s a two-way street.

I filled out a document that outlined my preferred working style, my communication style, and how I  resolve conflict . It helped both parties to essentially get a good sense of how the other works. 

Along the same vein of expectations are goals. My manager expressed some clear goals that she wanted me to reach within my first 90 days. But I also had the opportunity to think about my own personal goals and what I wanted to accomplish.

Together, we iterated on the plan to come up with an action plan. Some of these goals can ladder up to other big milestones that you’d like to have your employees reach along the way. 

30-60-90-day-plan-woman-shaking-hands-with-man

The world of work is a complex one. Especially in today’s day and age, there’s a lot of information that’s probably changing rapidly. 

For example, is your workforce hybrid or remote? What sort of COVID-19 guidelines are in place? How do you submit your expense reports or ask for time off? What systems does your organization use for benefits ? What employee resource groups or culture programs does your organization have? 

A 30-60-90 day plan is a good one-stop-shop for all the resources your new hire will need. It’s a great reference and resources with a wealth of information (and can help your employee become more self-sufficient, too). 

New hire checklist or to-do list 

When an employee joins a company, there are a lot of “tasks” that need to be done. For example, I needed to enroll in my benefits and 401K. I needed to upload my personal contact information into our human resources management system. I needed to upload my Slack photo and put my preferred pronouns on my email signature and Slack profile. 

A 30-60-90 day plan is a great place for all of the one-off tasks that every new hire needs to complete. It also helps keep your employees on track with all the administrative and HR tasks needed within the first couple of months of employment. 

Company mission, culture, and purpose of work 

Last but certainly not least, your employees need to understand the purpose of work. This likely won’t “click” fully in the first 30 (or even 90) days. But it’s important to start drawing connections between their work and the company’s vision early on. 

In a recent Forbes article, Great Place to Work® released new data around employee retention . One of the top drivers? Purpose. In fact, employees at top-rated workplaces in the US reported that if they feel their work has a purpose , their intent to stay at said companies triples.

Don’t dismiss the role that purpose plays in your organization. At BetterUp, we’re on a mission to help everyone everywhere live with greater purpose, clarity, and passion . This can only happen if employees understand their purpose and the role of their work in the company’s mission. 

We’ve created a free draft 30-60-90 day plan template to use for managers. Access the draft template and start using it today. 

Download the 30-60-90 day template

30-60-90 day plan for interviews

As mentioned earlier, there are some situations where an employee may prepare a 30-60-90 day plan as part of an interview. Or, perhaps as part of your company’s hiring process, you ask job applicants to put together their plans. 

With these elements, you’ll be sure the candidate is ready to hit the ground running. Here are some key components you should look for in a job applicant’s 30-60-90 day plan: 

  • Short-term goals (generally achievable, time-bound goals)
  • Long-term goals (that are also measurable goals)   
  • Establishing metrics for success 
  • Outlined priorities (especially for the first week) 
  • Learning new processes 
  • Meeting the new team and team members 
  • Any learning goals (or professional development goals ) 

Of course, your 30-60-90 day play is going to be catered to each individual. We’re all human with different responsibilities needed. Keep these nine tips in mind as you put together your 30-60-90 day plans. 

  • Set SMART goals  
  • Consider what you want your employee to prioritize 
  • Encourage professional development  
  • Encourage reflection time 
  • Outline goals into months: first month, second month, third month 
  • Ask for input from your employees and direct reports 
  • Promote ongoing learning about the company culture and purpose 
  • Adjust (and readjust) as needed 
  • Follow-up on the progress 

You can always work with a coach to help outline what might be needed in your 30-60-90 day plan. A coach will have a wealth of experience in the field and an objective, third-party perspective. With guidance from BetterUp, you can ensure you’re setting up your people for success.

connection-crisis-download-the-report

Madeline Miles

Madeline is a writer, communicator, and storyteller who is passionate about using words to help drive positive change. She holds a bachelor's in English Creative Writing and Communication Studies and lives in Denver, Colorado. In her spare time, she's usually somewhere outside (preferably in the mountains) — and enjoys poetry and fiction.

How to make a presentation interactive and exciting

Books to grow with in 2022, ready for a fresh start 7 best jobs for a career change, 10 examples of principles that can guide your approach to work, take the initiative: a how-to guide in 10 steps, the power of professional learning communities, what is networking and why is it so important, so you want to be your own boss here's how to do it right, getting a new manager how to (stop panicking and) make the most of it, similar articles, employee onboarding: how a great start leads to great results, how to create a work plan (with template), how to create the perfect onboarding checklist for new hire employees, write a performance improvement plan (pip) that really works, 30 leadership feedback examples for managers, your 6-step guide on how to make an action plan for management, 4 easy ways to make one-on-one meetings more meaningful, strategic plan vs. work plan: what's the difference, new hire job orientation: 5 ways to set employees up for success, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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Examples of a 30 60 90 day plan for new managers

Beth Braccio Hering

From the moment the job interview ended and the hiring manager offered her the managerial position, Jennifer could not wait to begin her new role. Her new team looked promising, and she was eager to implement her ideas on how to improve the department. Ready to hit the ground running, she envisioned making a great first impression on everybody encountered.

Instead, Jennifer often arrived home frustrated and exhausted. Some team members seemed unhappy with a procedural change she made her first week. Paperwork piled up, from budgets needing review to onboarding forms requiring completion. HR kept sending reminders to finish those managerial training modules. She had intended to get to those later on Thursday, but the staff meeting ran long (despite not even touching the last three items on her agenda). Then, there was that issue with the project management system. She assumed it would operate like the one at her last company. She quickly found out it didn’t — after three different people mentioned her errors.

Overwhelmed and unsure of herself, she often wished she had a roadmap to provide direction.

Creating a 30-60-90-day plan

As all new hires will attest, those first weeks on the job pose a challenge. New managers like Jennifer face an extra obstacle. They know others look to them as leaders, but it is hard to guide when you have not yet mastered the lay of the land.

A great way to handle the situation is to formulate what is known as a 30-60-90-day action plan. As the name suggests, its contents cover the first 90 days on a new job. This amount of time corresponds to the three-month grace period/probation time employers commonly provide for new employees to get up to speed and establish themselves. A 90-day plan template contains three main sections. Each part focuses on goals and activities for a specific period: the first month (30 days), the second month (60 days on the job), and the third month (90 days of employment).

Tough Talks D

Formulating such a document helps people in a new position become better time managers. The writer looks at the bigger picture and prioritizes what needs to be done when. Laying out a concrete vision of specific, measurable, and realistic goals offers a sense of control. Accomplishing the stated milestones boosts motivation and confidence.

Some individuals taking on a new manager role will find their employer requires such a plan. Human resources may provide a 30-60-90-day template to guide the process and perhaps a plan example or two. Those looking for ideas often find going over their job description helpful.

Whether your new company asks for a 30-60-90-day plan or you create one on your own, show it to your supervisor. He or she can offer valuable input as well as reassurance that you are on the right track. While every person’s end product will look different, the following provides some guidance on constructing a 30-60-90 plan. Be certain to start each section with the actual dates covered (such as July 15-August 15) for easy reference.

The first 30 days of the plan

The initial month of employment is a time filled with handling the basics. Do what is needed to get up to speed, and set learning goals. Focus on absorbing as much information as possible about the company’s mission, operations, and people.

While not as “splashy” as trying to make an immediate impact, accumulating knowledge and connections will pay off. What you learn will guide future actions and decisions. Others will view you as thoughtful, curious, and caring. You will begin to build trust and respect.

Consider including some of the following items in the 30-day section of the plan.

Complete onboarding

You want to receive your paycheck, insurance, and other benefits without delay, right? Do yourself and HR a favor by filling out all appropriate paperwork in a timely manner. Likewise, schedule blocks to do manager training modules and read provided material. Pay particularly close attention to the employee handbook . Look at it both as a worker and as a manager. You will get a firm grasp of company policies on issues likely to arise, such as dress code, absenteeism , and progressive discipline .

Master company technology

Effective communication and project management are difficult when you don’t know how to use the tools. Familiarize yourself with everything from the get-go, such as how to share documents, what Slack channels exist, and how to set up video conferences.

Meet one-on-one with direct reports

Get to know members of your team. Read each person’s job description before the meeting to get a sense of his or her expected duties, but be ready to go beyond what’s on paper. What does the individual see as his responsibilities? What is her preferred work style? What are the major challenges of the position? What motivates the person to put forth his best? Learn things about the worker’s interests and life away from the office, too.

Schedule a team meeting early on

Share a bit about yourself both personally and professionally. Express excitement about working with this group. Discuss any pertinent issues and short-term plans. Be open to what team members want to talk about.

Spend time away from your desk and out in the main work area. Listen and observe. You’ll learn plenty about office operations and workflow. Evaluate the vibe. You can find out much about company culture and employee engagement by considering the general mood. And since your presence may lead some employees to spontaneously strike up a conversation, go with the flow. Random chats build camaraderie and may bring important issues to light.

Connect outside your department

Don’t limit interactions to just your own team. Introduce yourself to as many people as possible, and learn what they do. Building connections with other managers will help you navigate the new company. Interact with support staff, too. Besides enhancing your reputation, rapport with administrative assistants and maintenance workers will likely prove valuable down the line.

Familiarize yourself with where things stand

Gain an understanding of the nitty-gritty. What are the company’s key performance metrics? Where do budgets stand? Who are the primary clients, and what services does your organization provide for them? Higher-ups likely will judge your success as a manager based on factors such as productivity figures, staying within budget, and pleasing key customers. Thus, it pays to know the indicators used.

Check in with your own manager

As the end of the month draws near, get feedback on your performance so far. It will ease concerns about how you are doing. If there is a problem, you can address it quickly to right the ship. Ask about any new issues or priorities you should attend to going forward.

The middle 30 days of the plan

By month two, new managers typically start feeling more comfortable. Learning continues, of course, but the basics become second nature. You know general operations, names, and likely even have pretty good insight into the personalities of your direct reports.

Building on knowledge acquired and connections made, new managers can start contributing more during days 31-60. Asking questions and listening remain important. But, at the same time, you can begin making a name for yourself by expressing your own ideas and taking measures to shape your team.

The following are some things the new manager might want to put in this section of the plan.

Think about what struck you during the previous period. Perhaps a certain problem kept appearing, morale seemed low, or a way of doing something seemed very inefficient. How might the company go about making improvements to these areas?

Analyze data

Now that you understand the numbers, dig deeper into them. Where might budgets be trimmed or reallocated? What patterns do you notice in performance metrics?

Standardize

Look for ways to save time and establish consistency by developing routines. Setting up a meeting agenda template, for instance, makes it easy to quickly create the document before each gathering and to keep content limited to the timeframe.

Hold one or more team meetings

Spend some of the time covering current issues, but also look to the future. Discuss and get feedback on some of the initiatives you are considering. Work together to develop various team goals. Strategize on how to accomplish them, perhaps using the SMART goals method. (Each letter in SMART stands for an important element of successful goal-setting: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.)

Issue a challenge

Motivate your team by giving them ownership over an objective. Maybe you’d like to gain five new clients this month. Encourage them to problem-solve and act together on this mission — with the promise of a pizza party if accomplished.

Continue to meet one-on-one with direct reports

Checking in with individuals remains a priority. Conversations now, however, can move beyond general introductions. Help team members identify their strengths and weaknesses. Look for skill gaps and measures that can fill them in. Seek feedback on what management can do to improve productivity and company culture.

Implement small projects

It still might not be the ideal time to overhaul a marketing campaign or seek funding for a new software system. However, start putting minor initiatives into action. You will gain a sense of accomplishment and start gaining a reputation as a mover and shaker. Since you showed patience by first learning the ropes and generating trust during the first month, others will likely be ready to give your ideas a try. (Jennifer from earlier might have had better luck with the staff accepting her procedural change if she had waited until this stage to put it into action.)

Recognize and appreciate

Employees love to know that their manager notices what they do well. Look for opportunities to pat people on the back. Send a heartfelt email thanking someone for staying late or putting in extra effort. Pen a personal note congratulating the month’s top seller. Surprise the team with bagels one morning as a thank-you for their assistance in getting you up to speed in your new managerial role.

Check in with your own manager again

Discuss progress and challenges. You are still new enough that feedback on your performance will dominate much of the conversation. However, you also can start talking about future goals and plans, especially as they relate to the company’s mission.

The last 30 days of the plan

Get ready to shine in days 61-90! You know a great deal about the company and its people now. Bigger moves are possible and probably even expected by both direct reports and upper management. Confidently embrace putting your strong leadership skills into action.

Include items like these in the last phase of the 30-60-90-day plan.

Make staffing decisions

The previous 60 days provided time to thoroughly examine your team. If you are short-handed, go full throttle on hiring and recruiting now. Likewise, put what you have learned from evaluating the staff into practice. Perhaps someone seems better suited for a different role on the team than the part he currently plays. Work on making that switch. Or, if your department is carrying a worker who is unproductive or toxic, start the termination process.

Put bigger ideas into action

Draw on what you have learned during the past two months to make significant changes. Maybe this means reallocating money to build a larger budget for a project that would benefit the company’s mission. Perhaps you want to try out a novel morale-building exercise. Make your move to do the things that will truly make a difference.

Hold one or more staff meetings

Discuss the outcome of the team goals created last month. Also, people likely will have questions about some of the new procedures you are putting into place. Use this time to clarify, explain the reasoning behind changes, and build buy-in.

Keep up individual meetings with staff members

One-on-one check-ins remain integral and will stay that way even beyond the 30-60-90 plan. But, kick your conversations up a notch this month. After issuing feedback and addressing any employee concerns, spend time talking about career ambitions. Where does this person want to be in six months, a year, or five years? What further skills or education does she desire? What types of goals can she set to prepare for advancement? Development plans motivate workers. They also increase retention because they offer the vision of a future with the company.

Provide a summary of your probation period accomplishments, and ask for feedback. Show that you are an agent of change by presenting your thoughts for even more achievement going forward. Just as you did with your own charges this month, discuss career goals. If the 30-60-90-day plan worked as it should, you should be able to come out of this meeting feeling good about yourself and clear on what is ahead for you at this company!

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The Best 30-60-90 Day Plan for Your New Job [Template + Example]

Erica Santiago

Published: December 06, 2023

I remember my first day at HubSpot. I was so nervous and had a million concerns swimming around in my head.

A man organizes sticky notes in front of a calendar as he maps out a 30-60-90 Day Plan

Will I adapt to my new job? How long will it take for me to get the hang of things? Can I manage the workload and maintain a good rapport with my coworkers?

Fortunately, my outstanding manager at the time prepared a comprehensive checklist to be completed over a few months, and it helped me slowly but steadily adapt to HubSpot. Fast forward a few years, and I'm a rockstar at my job.

The checklist was called a 100-day checklist, but it followed the rhythm of a typical 30-60-90 Day Plan.

A 30-60-90 Day Plan, or something similar, is imperative to the success of a new employee as it helps them set and reach attainable goals and acclimate to their new position.

To help set your new employee, or yourself, up for success, here's what you need to know about crafting the best 30-60-90 Day Plan.

Download Now: Sales Training & Onboarding Template [Free Tool]

30-60-90 Day Plan

A 30-60-90 day plan lays out a clear course of action for a new employee during the first 30, 60, and 90 days of their new job. By setting concrete goals and a vision for one's abilities at each stage of the plan, you can make the transition into a new organization smooth and empowering.

Learning the nuances of your new role in less than three months won't be easy. But crafting a strong 30-60-90 day plan is your best bet for accelerating your development and adapting to your new work environment as quickly as possible.

You‘d write a 30-60-90 day plan in two situations: during the final stages of an interview and the first week of the job. Here’s how each type can be executed:

30 60 90 day action plan supervisor

Free Sales Training Template

Use this template to set up a 30/60/90 day sales training and onboarding plan.

  • 30/60/90 Day Goals
  • People to Meet
  • Feedback/Review Process

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

30-60-90 Day Plan for Interview

Some hiring managers ask candidates to think about and explain their potential 30-60-90 day plan as a new hire.

As a candidate, this would sometimes confuse me in the past, but I now understand they just want to see if a potential hire can organize their time, prioritize the tasks they likely take, and strategize an approach to the job description.

For a new hire, a well-thought-out 30-60-90 day plan is a great way to help the hiring manager visualize you in the role and differentiate yourself from all other candidates.

But how can you outline your goals before accepting a new job? How are you supposed to know what those goals are? I've found that starting with the job description is an excellent stepping stone.

Typically, open job listings have separate sections for a job‘s responsibilities and a job’s qualifications. Work to find commonalities in these two sections and how you might turn them into goals for yourself.

Then, stagger those goals over three months.

For example, let‘s say a job requires three years of experience in Google Analytics, and the responsibilities include tracking the company’s website performance every month.

I would use these points to develop an action plan explaining how:

  • I‘ll learn the company’s key performance metrics (first 30 days)
  • Strengthen the company's performance in these metrics (next 30 days)
  • Lead the team toward a better Google Analytics strategy (last 30 days)

30-60-90 Day Plan for New Job

The second situation where you‘d write a 30-60-90 day plan is during the first week of a new job, which I highly recommend whether you’re a new employee or a manager working with a new hire.

If you're the hiring manager, this plan will allow you to learn how the new employee operates, address their concerns or preconceived notions about the role, and ultimately help them succeed.

If you‘re starting a new job and are not asked to craft a 30-60-90 day plan during the first week of that job, it’s still a good idea to write one for yourself.

A new position can feel like a completely foreign environment during the first few months, and having a plan in place can make it feel more like home.

Even though 90 days is the standard grace period for new employees to learn the ropes, it's also the best time to make a great first impression.

How long should a 30-60-90 day plan be?

While there's no set length for a 30-60-90 day plan, it should include information about onboarding and training, set goals that you're expected to hit by the end of each phase, and all the people to meet and resources to review in support of those goals. This can result in a document that's 3-8 pages long, depending on formatting.

The purpose of your plan is to help you transition into your new role, but it should also be a catalyst for your career development.

Instead of just guiding you over your job's learning curve, the goals outlined in your plan should push you to perform up to your potential and raise the bar for success at every stage.

HubSpot's Senior Manager of Content (and my former manager) Meg Prater suggests having a solid template for your plan that allows it to evolve.

“Anytime I onboard someone, I review all training docs and ensure they're up to date,” she says. “I also ask for feedback from the folks on the team who have most recently been onboarded. What did they like? What didn't work for them?”

She also says moving the plan to a more interactive platform proved to be helpful to new employees.

“One of the most helpful shifts we've made recently is moving our 30-60-90 plan (or 100-Days Plan) from a static Google Doc to Asana,” she says. “The plan is organized by week, and each task contains relevant readings and links. It's much easier for folks to move through, and it gives me better insight into where folks are in the plan.”

Meg onboarded me when I started at HubSpot, and I can confirm that my checklist in Asana was a game-changer because it helped me stay on task and visually track my progress.

The checklist below isn‘t mine, but it’s one she set up and follows the same format as the one she created for me.

Free 30/60/90 Day Onboarding Template

Fill out the form to get the template., parts of a 30-60-90 day plan.

An effective 30-60-90 day plan consists of three extensive phases — one for days 1-30, one for days 31-60, and one for days 61-90.

Each phase has its own goal. For example, the goal in the first 30 days is to learn as much as possible about your new job.

The following 30 focus on using learned skills to contribute, and the last 30 are about demonstrating skill mastery with metrics and taking the lead on new challenges.

Each phase also contains components that help define goals and describe desired outcomes. These parts include:

The primer is a general overview of what you hope to achieve during the current 30-day period.

I prefer sitting down with my manager to pinpoint a primer that aligns with my goals and desired company outcomes, and I encourage you to do the same.

This ensures you and your manager are on the same page about expectations early on in your journey with the company.

The theme is a quick-hitter sentence or statement summarizing your goals for the period. For example, your theme might be “find new opportunities”, “take initiative,” or “be a sponge.”

Learning Goals

Learning goals focus on skills you want to learn or improve to drive better outcomes at your job. For example, if you're responsible for creating website content at your company, you should learn new HTML or CSS skills .

At the start of my career with HubSpot, some marketing trends and jargon were unfamiliar, and I wasn‘t used to the company’s writing style.

As a result, my learning goals as a new blogger were to become more well-versed in marketing and to adapt to HubSpot's writing style.

Performance Goals

Performance goals speak to specific metrics that demonstrate improvement. These include making one more weekly content post or reducing the revisions management requires.

For example, I was only writing one article per week when I started HubSpot, but it was my performance goal to be able to write multiple articles by the end of 30 days.

Initiative Goals

Initiative goals are about thinking outside the box to discover other ways you can contribute. This might mean asking your manager about taking ownership of new website changes or upgrades with a specific deadline in mind.

Personal Goals

Personal goals focus on company culture — are there ways you can improve relationships with your team members or demonstrate your willingness to contribute?

30 60 90 day action plan supervisor

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The Best 30-60-90 Day Plan Templates + Examples of 2024

30 60 90 day action plan supervisor

Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? We all have a bit of Hannibal inside of us after all. We’re referring to the A-Team and not the Silence Of The Lambs of course. Don’t break out the cianti just yet!

All jokes aside 30-60-90 day plans are amazing performance management tools for large teams and individuals alike. Creating a 30-60-90 day plan ranks among the top best practices when onboarding new hires or promoting existing team members to new roles.

This week, we wanted to provide you with helpful tips on how to write 30-60-90 day plans, alongside helpful 30-60-90 day plan examples and effective 30-60-90 day plan templates! So what are we waiting for? Let’s get right to it!

A quick note before we start: If you are looking into these plans and templates, you might also be looking for a goal-setting template as well! Don’t worry, just fire this up on a separate tab:

9 Free Goal Setting Templates.

Table of Contents

What is a 30-60-90 day plan?

A 30/60/90 plan is a strategy that outlines your goals and objectives for the first three months of a new job or a new role within your company.

It’s a game plan that helps you focus your efforts, prioritize your tasks, and track your progress as you navigate your new responsibilities. The plan is typically divided into three phases, with each phase representing 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days respectively.

The First 30 Days

During the first 30 days of your new role, your primary focus is usually on getting settled in and learning the ropes. While some could liken this section of the 30-60-90 day plan to the honeymoon phase, completely full of sunshine and rainbows, it does come with some getting used to.

You may find yourself spending time getting to know your team, understanding the company culture and values, and familiarizing yourself with the processes and procedures of your new job.

This period might also be the timeframe when you begin to identify potential challenges and opportunities for improvement, which you can address in the upcoming phases of your plan. This also happens to be a great time to start exchanging positive feedback with your team and boost morale alongside employee engagement .

The First 60 Days

As you move into the 60-day phase of your plan, your focus may shift towards executing key projects and making meaningful contributions to the organization.

You should definitely begin to take ownership of specific initiatives, work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve shared goals, and implement new ideas and strategies that align with the company’s objectives.

Taking ownership at this phase displays an impressive amount of commitment on your part and shows you have a knack for leadership.

Start measuring your progress and track your results, refining your approach based on feedback from your team and your supervisor.

If you are looking for some fresh HR-related initiatives: Best HR Initiatives of 2024 .

The First 90 Days

By the time you reach the 90-day mark, your goal is to have established yourself as a valuable contributor to the company. You should have a clear understanding of your job responsibilities, your team dynamics, and the organization’s priorities.

Having a complete grasp of how everything around you works brings with it a certain amount of confidence that should really impact your performance.

You should also be able to demonstrate your ability to achieve results, innovate, and adapt to changing circumstances by now. After all, you are now a full-fledged member of the team!

Reviews after each checkpoint

Conducting 30 60 90 day reviews after each checkpoint is the best practice when it comes to an effective onboarding process . If you want to automate these reviews, you can try using an integrated onboarding software such as Teamflect.

You can try using it for free, without signing up and with no time limits, inside Microsoft Teams. All you need to do is click the button below.

Wandering how you can conduct 30 60 90 day reviews inside Microsoft Teams? Here is a nifty little tutorial!

30-60-90 Day Plan Examples:

Example 1: 30-60-90 day plan for a sales manager:.

30 Day Plan:

  • Clarify sales goals: Meet with the sales team and clarify sales goals for the quarter. Identify any gaps in the team’s understanding and develop a plan to fill those gaps.
  • Develop relationships with team members: Meet with each team member individually to understand their strengths and areas of development. Develop a plan for how to work together to achieve individual and team goals.
  • Conduct market research: Conduct research on the market and identify potential clients to target. Develop a list of prospects for the sales team to reach out to.

60 Day Plan:

  • Develop sales strategies: Develop sales strategies for the next quarter, based on market research and feedback from the sales team. Develop strategies for both new business and account management.
  • Develop sales training: Identify areas for sales team development and develop a sales training program to address these areas.
  • Build relationships with clients: Schedule meetings with key clients and develop relationships with them. Gain a deep understanding of their needs and develop strategies for how to best serve them.

90 Day Plan:

  • Implement new sales strategies: Roll out new sales strategies and track progress against sales goals. Identify areas for improvement and make adjustments as necessary.
  • Implement sales training: Implement a sales training program and track team members’ progress against development goals.
  • Measure success: Develop metrics to track the success of new strategies and training programs. Share progress with the team and celebrate successes.

Example 2: 30-60-90 Day Plan For a Marketing Manager:

30 Day Plan :

  • Meet with team members and key stakeholders to understand the current state of the marketing department, the key challenges and opportunities, and the short and long-term goals.
  • Conduct a thorough analysis of the company’s current marketing strategy, including customer segmentation, brand positioning, and market trends.
  • Develop a deep understanding of the company’s products, target market, and competitors.
  • Review the marketing budget and allocate resources according to the priorities of the business.
  • Identify areas for improvement in the marketing plan, such as optimizing the company’s digital marketing campaigns, improving the customer journey, or streamlining the sales funnel.
  • Begin to develop and implement new marketing initiatives that align with the company’s goals and objectives.

60 Day Plan :

  • Build a strong relationship with the sales team to better understand their needs and how marketing can support them.
  • Identify and prioritize key marketing projects that will have the most impact on the company’s growth.
  • Analyze the company’s marketing metrics and use the insights to refine the marketing strategy and make data-driven decisions.
  • Optimize the company’s website, social media channels, and other digital assets to improve lead generation and customer engagement.
  • Develop and execute a content marketing plan that aligns with the company’s messaging and brand voice.
  • Explore new marketing channels and tactics to expand the company’s reach and build brand awareness.

90 Day Plan :

  • Evaluate the impact of the new marketing initiatives and adjust the strategy accordingly.
  • Collaborate with other departments to ensure alignment on messaging and branding.
  • Develop a plan for ongoing measurement and analysis of marketing performance.
  • Finalize the marketing budget for the upcoming year and ensure that it aligns with the company’s goals and priorities.
  • Evaluate the marketing team’s performance and identify opportunities for professional development and growth.
  • Present a summary of accomplishments and plans for the future to the leadership team.

Example 3: 30-60-90 Day Plan for a Human Resources Manager

  • Get to know the company culture and values: Meet with key stakeholders, including the CEO, senior leadership, and department heads, to understand the company’s mission, vision, values, and culture.
  • Evaluate existing HR policies and procedures: Review the current HR policies and procedures to identify areas for improvement or updating. Meet with HR staff and other department heads to get their feedback on what’s working and what’s not.
  • Develop relationships with staff: Schedule one-on-one meetings with all HR team members to get to know them and understand their roles. Meet with other key staff to understand their needs and expectations of HR.
  • Assess staffing needs: Work with department heads to identify staffing needs and develop a plan for recruiting and hiring new employees.
  • Develop an HR strategy: Based on the information gathered, develop a comprehensive HR strategy that aligns with the company’s goals and objectives. Research current HR trends and create a strategy that is up to date.
  • Implement HR strategy: Begin implementing the HR strategy, including changes to policies and procedures, and start recruiting new staff members.
  • Develop and conduct training programs: Develop and conduct training programs for HR staff and other employees on topics such as performance management, diversity and inclusion, and employee relations.
  • Improve employee engagement: Develop and implement initiatives to improve employee engagement, such as employee recognition programs, regular feedback sessions, and career development plans.
  • Review compensation and benefits: Review the company’s compensation and benefits packages to ensure they are competitive and in line with industry standards.
  • Conduct a compliance audit: Review HR analytics software and procedures to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations.
  • Evaluate HR initiatives: Evaluate the effectiveness of HR initiatives implemented during the first 60 days and make any necessary adjustments.
  • Develop long-term HR goals: Work with the senior leadership team to develop long-term HR goals and strategies.
  • Improve communication channels: Develop and implement initiatives to improve communication channels between HR and other departments.
  • Build external relationships: Build relationships with industry organizations and attend networking events to stay up-to-date on HR trends and best practices.
  • Review recruitment process: Review the recruitment process and make any necessary changes to improve the quality of new hires.

30-60-90 Day Plan Templates

HR managers should use a 30-60-90 day plan because it is an effective tool for managing employee performance and ensuring that new hires are successfully integrated into the organization.

This particular 30 60 90 day plan template outlines specific goals and objectives for the employee to achieve during their first three months on the job.

This in turn lets the HR manager set expectations and provide clear direction, which can help the employee stay focused and motivated.

The 30-60-90 day plan can be used as a performance evaluation tool as well, allowing the HR manager to assess the employee’s progress and make any necessary adjustments to their training or development.

Using a 30-60-90 day plan is an excellent tool for account managers for several reasons. Why? Because it simply helps them hit the ground running and achieve success quickly in their new role.

The plan provides a roadmap of what they need to achieve in the first three months and keeps their focus on the most important activities and stay on track to meet their goals.

What are the benefits of 30-60-90 day plans?

30-60-90 day plan

1. Clarifies priorities and goals

Having a 30-60-90 day plan helps you clarify your priorities and goals in the first few months of your new role. The first three months on the job can be intimidating. breaking down your objectives into manageable pieces helps make sure you are focusing on the most important tasks and making progress towards your goals. Taking advantage of OKR software definitely helps here.

2. Demonstrates initiative

Creating a 30-60-90 day plan shows your employer that you are proactive, invested in your role, and willing to take the initiative to succeed. Demonstrating how you are willing to map out the next three months can help you build trust with your employer and position yourself as a valuable asset to the organization.

3. Helps with time management

A 30-60-90 day plan can help you stay on track and avoid feeling overwhelmed by the amount of new information and responsibilities you need to absorb.

Dividing your initial three months at an organization into achievable milestones will help you manage all the difficulties of managing time and responsibilities in your first months.

4. Provides structure and direction

The plan provides a structure and direction to your work, helping you make steady progress toward your objectives. Having a plan in place keeps you focused, engaged, and most importantly, accountable.

5. Facilitates communication

Creating a 30-60-90 day plan can help you communicate with your supervisor and team about your goals, priorities, and progress. You will always have an answer to the question “What are you up to these days?”. That translates into an improved relationship with your management and colleagues.

9 Useful tips for creating a 30-60-90 day plan

To determine what you should focus on while creating a 30-60-90 day plan, you need to understand how you can help the new hire in the first 90 days. Below are nine ways of creating an impactful 30-60-90 day plan.

  • Set SMART goals 
  • Establish your employees’ priorities
  • Promote career growth
  • Encourage time to reflect on employee strengths and weaknesses
  • Create goals for the first month, second month, and third month 
  • Collect feedback from your peers and direct reports 
  • Create opportunities for continuous learning about the company culture 
  • Make adjustments when needed
  • Follow up  

When to use a 30-60-90 day plan

What situations will your 30 60 90 day plan be the most effective in? Let’s dive right in.

30-60-90 day plan for an interview 

You can consider creating a 30-60-90 day plan for your interviews if you want to impress your potential employer. For instance, an employee who is applying for a sales role can put together a 30-60-90 day plan which includes what they can focus on in their new position.

30-60-90 day plan for a new job

30 60 90 plans are more frequently used in the employee onboarding process because they help both hiring managers and new hires. It helps you set performance expectations for the next three months.

Performance Management Software

Creating 30-60-90 day plans is only half the battle. Keeping up with them and making the absolute most of them is an entirely different beast to overcome.

This is where taking advantage of a performance management solution can make all the difference. We’ve highlighted some of the best ones you can find right here:

That being said, if your organization uses Microsoft Teams on a daily basis, then the best option for you would be:

30-60-90 day plan

Teamflect is an official Microsoft partner and the best performance management software for Microsoft Teams. With complete Microsoft Teams integration , Teamflect lets users manage tasks, set goals, exchange recognition, and conduct highly effective meetings, without ever having to leave Microsoft Teams.

As a highly efficient task software , Teamflect lets users assign and track tasks from inside even inside team chat, providing the perfect tool to make sure your 30-60-90 day plans are executed to perfection!

Other Teamflect features include but aren’t limited to:

  • Employee Engagement Surveys
  • An extensive library of customizable performance review templates
  • Customizable employee recognition badges
  • A strong meeting module with comprehensive meeting agendas
  • So much more!

Teamflect Image

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a 30-60-90 day plan.

A 30-60-90 day plan is a strategy that outlines your goals and objectives for the first three months of a new job or a new role within your current company. It’s a game plan that helps you focus your efforts, prioritize your tasks, and track your progress as you navigate your new responsibilities. The plan is typically divided into three phases, with each phase representing 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days respectively.

  • Clarifies priorities and goals
  • Demonstrates initiative
  • Helps with time management
  • Provides structure and direction
  • Facilitates communication

What are some mistakes to avoid with 30 60 90 day plans?

Setting Unrealistic Expectations : While it’s essential to be ambitious, setting unrealistic expectations is a common pitfall. We are after all, only talking about a one to three-month period. That isn’t very long now, is it?

Overloading a 30-60-90 day plan with too many objectives can overwhelm individuals and lead to burnout. Ensure that your goals are challenging but also attainable within the designated time frames.

Neglecting Prioritization : Setting tasks for the upcoming 30-60-90 days is great but your job as a leader doesn’t end with task assignments. A common mistake is failing to prioritize tasks and goals within the 30-60-90 day plans.

Without clear priorities, individuals may find themselves scattered, trying to accomplish everything at once. Establishing a clear order of importance for tasks can help individuals focus on what matters most.

Ignoring Flexibility : What is that old saying about the best-laid plans of mice and men? Circumstances change. Plans go down the drain and new ones need to be made. That is why rigidity can be detrimental to 30-60-90-day plans.

The unexpected can happen, and unforeseen challenges can arise. A mistake to avoid is not allowing room for adjustments and flexibility within the plan. Plans should be adaptable to accommodate changing circumstances.

Short-Term Focus Only : 30-60-90 day plans are designed to provide short-term structure, but another mistake is neglecting the long-term perspective. These plans should ideally align with broader career or organizational goals. It is imperative to ensure that short-term actions contribute to long-term success.

All in all, a well-structured 30-60-90 day plan is a highly powerful tool to use when striving for your goals and objectives. It provides you with a valuable roadmap that gives a clear direction of where you’re headed and how you can get to your envisioned future in your business.

This structured approach of a strategic plan you will craft is not only a key part of your road to success but also a very important asset in your real growth as a person and a business. 30-60-90 day plans promise short-term success and the enablement of continued improvement and sustained success.

Whether you apply it in a personal or professional setting, as an employee or a leader, 30-60-90-day plans prove to be effective in turning aspirations into tangible, measurable outcomes. Use this guide and craft one of your own to start succeeding!

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30 60 90 day action plan supervisor

Written by Emre Ok

Emre is a content writer at Teamflect who aims to share fun and unique insight into the world of performance management.

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30-60-90 Day Plan [Examples + Template]

Learn how to create an effective 30-60-90 day plan for new job success. Get examples and a step-by-step template to help you get started.

Last Updated

April 19 2023

An effective onboarding experience is crucial to getting your new hire’s tenure with your company started on the right foot.

The key to getting your new employee onboarding experience off to the right foot?

A solid plan of attack.

Unfortunately, this is one area where teams continue to struggle. In fact, a recent study by Talentech found that 64% of new hires have no pre-boarding experiences at all — leaving them unsure of how to even begin learning about their new position.

(Which, of course, doesn’t bode well for their future with the company — nor for the company as a business.)

No matter how knowledgeable or talented your new hires are, they need to know from the start:

  • What their onboarding experience will look like with your company
  • What they’ll learn throughout this experience
  • What they should be able to do as they become fully onboarded within your organization

Here’s where a 30-60-90 Day plan comes in.

Employees going through 30-60-90 day onboarding plan

What is a 30-60-90 Day Plan?

A 30-60-90 day plan defines the main goals and tasks a new hire will have in front of them during their first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job.

The ultimate goal is to ensure new hires can do, have done, or know how to do everything they’ll be responsible for in their new position. As we’ll discuss, creating these plans is a collaborative effort involving a number of internal stakeholders.

For the most part, the actual document is a checklist to help employees stay on track throughout the onboarding experience.

However, you can also include further guidance and links to additional resources within your plans as necessary.

Note that the “30-60-90 Day” approach to planning can be used in various other scenarios, such as when creating individual employee training plans or making changes to your internal processes . For our current purposes, we’ll be focusing on 30-60-90 day employee onboarding plans.

Also, note that the main focus of these plans is specifically to prepare the employee for their new role within the company. Yes, their own professional development plays a part in this planning — but only so far as it enables the individual to do their current job as best as possible.

(That said, an individual may create a separate plan focusing on their own professional growth within the organization and their overall career — but this will be in addition to the core plan they create internally with your team.)

Why are 30-60-90 Day Plans Important?

At first glance, going through the trouble of creating a 30-60-90 day plan might seem like overkill.

(As we said, most teams simply want to get their new hires up and running as quickly as possible — even if it means skipping out on part of the onboarding process.)

But, as the old adage goes: Failing to plan is planning to fail.

While it’s pretty obvious that creating a 30-60-90 day plan with your new hires is better than not doing so, let’s take a closer look at the specific benefits it can bring to the table.

Set Clear Goals and Expectations for All Stakeholders

Yes, we said all stakeholders.

But first, know that a 30-60-90 day onboarding plan makes new employees’ responsibilities crystal clear from their initial moments on the job. As we’ll discuss, the plan will also provide guidance to new employees on their way to achieving these goals.

With a clear plan in place, managers will have a better idea of how they can help new hires along their onboarding path — and can better anticipate spots where individual employees may face the most trouble. This can potentially lead you to make larger, more permanent improvements to your onboarding processes over time.

Overall, 30-60-90 plans serve to get both new hires and managers on the same page from the onset. In a world where remote and hybrid work is the norm, this is all but vital to the success of your business.

Strengthen Employee Autonomy

On top of making your employee’s high-level onboarding goals known, a 30-60-90 day plan provides the details of what they need to do to get there.

The plan will provide actionable prompts for new hires to follow during each onboarding phase — even when not directly instructed to do so by their supervisor. With this guidance in hand, new employees will almost always know how they can make progress in some area of their onboarding.

(And, in cases where they do need more assistance in a certain area, they can tackle some of the other tasks on their onboarding checklist in the meantime.)

On the whole, this empowers your employees to make decisions and take actions based on their knowledge and expertise — and to not waste time waiting for explicit instructions from above. They’ll also be empowered to know when they do need help — and where to go within the company to get it.

Ensure Purposeful Employee Onboarding

A 30-60-90 day onboarding plan aims to hammer out everything a new hire needs to know or do to get started.

And, it lays out exactly how each part of the process connects to one another — forming a more comprehensive and cohesive onboarding experience for every new hire you bring on.

In short, a 30-60-90 day plan illustrates:

  • What a new hire needs to do throughout onboarding
  • Why doing these things is important

In a practical sense, new hires will better understand how they’ll be applying what they learn during onboarding while on the job. They’ll also better understand the impact their individual efforts have on the organization’s success as a whole.

At a time when professional and personal purpose is top-of-mind for many employees , this can be exactly what’s needed to keep your best new hires engaged and prospering with your company.

Make Onboarding Manageable

Creating a 30-60-90 day plan with your new hires will keep things manageable for all parties throughout the onboarding process.

On the employee’s end, they’ll be able to take a more structured and purposeful approach to the tasks in front of them. As we’ll discuss, the plan will have them prioritizing tasks based on importance and impact — as well as the individual employee’s current skills and knowledge.

(This, in contrast to being thrown a barrage of semi-related tasks to complete in no particular order — which unfortunately isn’t all that uncommon for new employees to experience.)

In a broader sense, a 30-60-90 day plan breaks onboarding up into three distinct phases (which we’ll discuss momentarily). This means they’ll spend less time shifting gears throughout onboarding, and more time focused deeply on the most important parts of the process.

Supervisors will also be better able to manage the onboarding process both during planning and in real-time. With a structured plan in place, they can again anticipate their employees’ needs at every major phase and individual touchpoint — and further enable them at every step.

(Conversely, failing to anticipate your new hires’ needs during onboarding will lead to major blockers whenever they face even the slightest bump in the road.)

Collect Targeted Feedback from New Hires

Creating a more structured and manageable onboarding process will enable your employees to provide more targeted, valuable feedback about their experiences.

Overall, it will be easier to distinguish events and experiences from one another — as opposed to grouping the entire experience into one singular event. In turn, your new hires will be able to identify specific parts of each experience worth discussing in greater detail (for better or worse).

Your new hires will be more equipped to provide constructive  feedback throughout the onboarding experience, as well. Since they’ll be more in control of the situation — and less overwhelmed — they’ll have the time and energy needed to reflect in an open and honest manner.

Check out how  Epic Engineering  saved new employees forty hours of onboarding responsibilities with Helpjuice.    

Key Elements of a 30-60-90 Day Plan

A formalized 30-60-90 day onboarding plan typically touches on four key elements of the onboarding process:

Goals and Metrics

Let’s now discuss how to ensure your onboarding plans include each of these elements.

Firstly, your plan should have different focal points during each 30-day chunk, or phase:

  • Phase 1 (Day 1-30) focuses on teaching new hires about their new position, about how the team operates, and about the company’s vision and goals.
  • Phase 2 (Day 31-60) is when new hires start to contribute to the team and begin taking a more active role in overall operations.
  • Phase 3 (Day 61-90) has new hires becoming fully autonomous in their role, and taking a more proactive approach to their professional development.

While these phases will likely overlap when put into practice, this sequential focus on learning , acting , and growing makes for a more intuitive and impactful onboarding experience for all new employees.

Priorities are the high-level things your new hire will need to do or accomplish at each phase to be considered “fully” onboarded.

These priorities tie directly to each phase’s overarching focus, getting more specific to the position in question.

For example , a customer service rep’s priorities may include:

  • Learn about the target audience’s needs and personas
  • Learn about the team’s intake, escalation, and closing processes
  • Learn about company policies and their administrative responsibilities
  • Work with a mentor to optimize their service workflow
  • Complete a simulated customer service instance
  • Handle their first real-world service ticket
  • Complete a service ticket without assistance or guidance
  • Complete a self-assessment of their knowledge, skills, and performance
  • Develop a professional development plan — and put it into action

For each priority, your 30-60-90 day plan will then include a set of specific goals and accompanying metrics of success.

It boils down to this:

  • Priorities are “what needs to happen”
  • Goals  are “how to do it”
  • Metrics are “how you know it’s been done”

So, you’ll have multiple goals for most of your priorities — with singular success metrics attached to each goal as appropriate.

Note that metrics  can refer to specific performance measurements, or to things your new hire should know or know how to do.

For example , part of our hypothetical service rep’s plan might appear as follows:

  • Focus : Execution
  • Priority : Complete a simulated customer service instance

In this optional section, managers or team leaders can provide additional information and/or point new hires to other resources as needed.

Depending on the situation, these resources may include:

  • Company policies and procedures
  • Employee handbook documentation
  • Knowledge base articles for specific workflows or processes

Key Best Practices for Creating Effective 30-60-90 Day Plans

Starting your new hires off with a 30-60-90 plan can effectively enhance their initial experiences with your team.

But only if it’s done strategically.

Here’s how to make it happen.

1. Create 30-60-90 Day Plan Templates

As discussed above, your 30-60-90 day onboarding plan will generally follow this basic structure:

You can then use this basic structure to create templates for different teams or positions within your organization. Though you’ll eventually tailor these templates to the individual employee, including non-negotiable goals and mandatory tasks within these docs will give you a head start in this planning.

You can, of course, create your own structure for your 30-60-90 day plans to fit your specific needs.

With a standardized planning template in place, you’ll ensure all new hires begin their tenure with a solid foundation upon which they can quickly begin to build.

Develop Plans Collaboratively

…and build on it they shall.

But putting together your new hire’s 30-60-90 day plans should be a collaborative effort across the board.

Really, you can begin by collaborating with your current team members while putting together your planning template. Here, executives and admin teams can identify mandatory goals and tasks — while managers and veteran team members can organize the template for practical purposes.

As for creating individual onboarding plans, this process should involve the new hire, their supervisor, and anyone who may be acting as a mentor or guide for the newbie.

  • New hires can provide information on their knowledge, skills, and abilities — along with their potential needs during onboarding. They can also ask for clarification during this planning phase to ensure they start and stay on the right track.
  • Supervisors will define the new hire’s overarching goals and specific performance indicators, based on the individual’s strengths and weaknesses — and on the standards set by the company. They’ll also ensure new hires understand the plan in full before proceeding with onboarding.
  • Mentors or veteran employees can provide insight into what’s needed during onboard — and how to deliver it. Similarly, they can use their past experiences to identify potential issues in current planning efforts and provide guidance to new hires as needed.

This is all key to developing the comprehensive and cohesive plan needed to allow new hires to navigate the onboarding process autonomously and safely.

Set SMART Goals for Your Plans

When creating a 30-60-90 plan with a new hire, the goals you set for them should follow the SMART framework:

  • Specific to the position, and based on the individual’s knowledge and skills
  • Measureable , objectively as compared to your team’s standard benchmarks
  • Attainable , again based on the employee’s abilities and other situational factors
  • Relevant to their actual position and professional development
  • Time-Based — inherent to the 30-60-90 day approach

Some examples:

To be sure, this requires a more intensive, granular approach to your planning efforts — but it’s again an essential part of setting your new hires up for true success.

Make Ongoing Performance- and Feedback-Based Adjustments

Ideally, your 30-60-90 day onboarding plans will go exactly as planned with every employee you bring on.

Realistically, though, you’ll likely need to make adjustments to your new hires’ plans as they continue with their onboarding journey.

The high-level advice here is to ditch the “set it and forget it” approach to employee onboarding altogether. Yes, you’ll have set them up to be more autonomous throughout the process — but you should always be prepared to lend a hand to your new hires whenever necessary.

In extreme cases, you may need to intervene completely and have your new hire change course during their onboarding journey. For example, if they fall short of a given performance standard — or if it’s clear that they need more practice in a given area — you might have them revisit a training session or activity before moving on.

(And, you’d want to hold off on more advanced instruction for the time being. In most cases, plowing through would just lead to more frustration and failure for all involved parties.)

Making these adjustments in real-time requires a proactive approach at times, and a responsive approach at others. It’s your job as a supervisor to anticipate your new hire’s needs and capabilities before they reach a trouble spot. And, you need to be able to identify when things are going south — even if your employee doesn’t necessarily recognize the problem.

As we’ve touched on, your new hires should also feel empowered to make real-time adjustments to certain processes when appropriate — or to reach out for further guidance when needed.

Leverage Your Knowledge Base

Your internal knowledge base should play an integral role in each phase of your 30-60-90 day onboarding plans.

During the initial onboarding phase, new hires can use it to learn more about the company, their position, and what it means to be a member of the team. They can also dig into more practical documentation, such as relevant standard operating procedures , team directories, and emergency protocol as they complete different onboarding tasks.

During Phase 2, new hires can revisit SOP documentation to solidify their understanding of routine processes — and their ability to navigate them. Once they’ve built this solid foundation, new hires can use the knowledge base to learn about advanced best practices, and to get expert advice from their veteran colleagues on demand.

Finally, your new employees can actually begin adding to your internal knowledge base during the third onboarding phase. While their input will likely be very surface-level for the time being, they should get used to regularly contributing to your organization’s collective knowledge simply as soon as they’re ready.

Use Helpjuice to Supercharge Your 30-60-90 Day Plans

As crucial as your knowledge base is to your 30-60-90 day onboarding plans, you need to have the right software behind it to make it work for your team.

That is, you need a knowledge base software that allows you to:

  • Create and deliver structured, multimedia-rich knowledge content
  • Develop and improve knowledge documentation collaboratively
  • Publish multiple versions of knowledge content for various onboarding purposes

(You also need to be sure your team’s knowledge content remains safe and secure throughout onboarding — and that any changes made are made with your permission.)

In short, you need Helpjuice.

Want to learn more? Try a free 14-day demo of our software today!

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The Ultimate Guide to a 30 60 90 Day Plan (with Examples)

Nicole Nemeth author profile

With such a traumatizing time for the economy, planning for the thir decade of the 21 century is getting more hectic. Learning, implementing, and executing goals is becoming harder as people grapple with these harsh living times. That's why it is essential to have a workable plan for facing the inevitable. 

One of the best ways to see a strategy to fruition is to utilize the 30-60-90-day plan. This type of plan divides objectives into segments of 30-day goals: Moreover, it has sub-sections containing the goals for the three segmentation periods.

Read on to discover why the 30-60-90-day plan is so prevalent in the business world. 

What is a 30 60 90 Plan

A 30-60-90-day plan is a document containing the goals of its creator and the strategies to apply in beating the deadline of achievements. These goals are segmented into time frames of 30 days each hence the name 30-60-90-day plan.

The main characteristics of these objectives are: 

achievability 

specification

manageability  

One can create such plans at the beginning of their achievement plan: They can also utilize them whenever a new need arises that requires achievement within a specific timeframe. 

Furthermore, businesses are free to utilize one in their achievement plans, making it easier for workers to board and work towards achieving the goals.

To best utilize the plan, know its benefits and how to create a flexible template that easily adapts to your objectives. 

Let's start with the benefits of 30-60-90-day plans.

Why are 30 60 90 Plans Useful

For directors.

Directors can utilize the 30-60-90-day plan in their directory role. 

They can develop goals that propel the business forward and segment them into actionable, achievable goals. Then they can settle on the timeframe to achieve these objectives within a stipulated period. 

Directors may finally create and document the 30-60-90-day plan for accountability purposes.

For managers 

Managers stand to benefit a lot from the 30-60-90-day plan. 

They can easily break down the organization's objectives into manageable tasks. Then, they can redistribute these tasks to the respective workers. 

Managers can use the 30-60-90-day plan to assess how effectively the workers pursue the stipulated objectives. 

For internal promotion 

A 30-60-90-day plan might be a handy tool for evaluating candidates for internal company promotion. 

How? By asking promotion contenders to achieve a particular goal using this segmented-days plan. 

Through their created plans, the recruiter can access the capabilities of the individual. Such assessments can be in terms of priority setting, time management , and the ability to plan effectively .  

For Interview presentation

Hiring managers may ask the potential candidate to think about their objectives. Then, the manager might request the candidate to explain how they will achieve their goals using the 30-60-90-day plan. 

This task usually gauges how the potential employee might strategize their approach to the job roles, how they'd organize their time, and how they would prioritize their tasks.

Thus, for a job seeker, it is best to formulate such plans in your career development: They will save you the nerve-racking discomfort of trying to develop one in an interview.

What You Should Include in a 30 60 90 Day Plan 

Knowing the elements of a 30-60-90-day plan is essential before putting ink to paper and creating one. They include: 

Each section of a 30-60-90-day plan must contain high-priority objectives. 

For example, the plan should have priorities for different phases, such as:

learning internal processes of implementation

proposing required solutions to specific problems

determining the role to perform

These priorities need to be more specific than the focus element.

Typically, any new plan should have a period for learning, implementation, and execution of achievement methods. 

It is also advisable to have room for flexibility in shifting or changing the project's aims. This is to accommodate any new findings obtained during the learning and implementation stage of the 30-60-90-day plan. 

Remember, focus can shift due to the unforeseeable circumstances of life itself. 

Objectives are simply another name for goals. 

It is essential to set specific aims to achieve any objective. These goals should blend into the priorities and focus element of a 30-60-90-day plan. 

Therefore, break your goals into the following categories for a more straightforward implementation:

Learning objectives should have goals that impact skills and knowledge to achieve the ultimate objective. They might also contain methodologies for acquiring and absorbing the information learnt.

Performance goals: such goals include the tangible things one desires to accomplish at the end of the plan. To set them, settle on what to achieve in a 30-day segmentation of the 90 days. 

Personal aims: these objectives aim to determine your plan's goal and help determine the viability of achieving the dream. 

Metrics are the systems of measurements that aid in tracking the progress of your 30-60-90-day plan. 

Without them, it would be impossible to determine the plan's success.

How to Write a 30 60 90 Day Plan and Examples 

Having goals in your 30-60-90-day plan is the first hurdle to overcome. 

Thus, it would help if you had quantifiable and actionable goals. Furthermore, the goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). 

Below are some questions to aid you in setting the objectives of your plan:

What exactly are my plans?

Which goals are the main priorities?

Are there methods that I can use to measure my progress?

After establishing them, it is time to write your plan down. Below are the steps of how to go about it:

Draft an overall template

Create a template for your 30-60-90-day plan. If you find difficulty in formulating one, don't worry. There is an example included towards the end of this article. 

You can twerk it to become a (workable) template for you.

Nevertheless, a template should have segments for the 30,60 and 90 days. 

It should also have a corresponding section for your goals and the actions to conduct.

Establish the goals

As said earlier, the goals need to be SMART. In other words, they should propel you to focus on achieving specific objectives at the end of your planned journey. 

Such goals can be performance goals, learning objectives , or personal purposes . 

Thus, create a general list of these objectives and categorize them into your template's appropriate segment. 

Determine 30-day targets

This 30-day period should be primarily for learning how to implement the actions to achieve the goals. 

Hence, list the goals that involve learning about the process as you test what works and what to discard. 

Identify the 60-day objectives

This next section should have the goals that relate to contributions. Here, the objectives need to be about implementing the observations obtained during the first 30 days. 

In other words, this section contains the initiative goals. 

Determine the 90-day goals

The 90-day is all about identifying the goals that are polishing up on the purpose (s) of the 30-60-90-day plan. Here is where you cater to your overall personal goals.

If the final days are for effectively and appropriately finishing the plan, they should focus on utilizing the experience and knowledge from the elapsed 60-days. 

Implement the actions to undertake 

First, confirm your goals by date and type. Then, make a list containing the actions you will use to assess the results of your objectives.

Example of a 30-Day Plan for New Employee

Focus : learning

Priorities : 

Understand the roles of a given job position. 

Look into the expectations of what the business has for that work description. 

Learning the processes and procedures of conducting work in that organization.

Learning Objectives:

Go through the company's documentation and the employee handbook.

Enquire from colleagues and supervisors about the company procedures and processes regarding work.

Access the company's database and try seeing how everything fits together to achieve the mission and vision of the business.

Performance goals:

Request feedback from the boss and the subordinates. (Metric: the scorecard of the input)

Settle on a task to complete within a stipulated period. (Metric: The completion of the mission within the period)

Personal aims:

Schedule a meeting with the company's H.R. and get to learn more about the job roles. (Metric: met with the H.R. until the positions become second nature)

Set up meetings with work colleagues with whom you'll constantly collaborate throughout your work. (Metric: understanding the interconnection of the colleagues' roles with your rules)

Example of a 60-Day Plan for New Employee

Focus: Implementation

Priorities: fully integrated into the active role, having a reduced desire for guidance. Look into how best I can impact the business within the given function of the job position. 

Learning objectives:

Complete a training course or tutorial on enhancing productivity in each job role. (Metric: course completed)

Look for a role model to emulate that seems to do their tasks effortlessly, mastering their craft. (Metric: contacting a role model and agreeing to work together)

Ask a seasoned workforce member to observe and evaluate my work within 30 days. (Metric: obtaining valuable feedback from the member)

Look into the critical performance index regarding how I have performed in the active role. (Metric: the scorecard 

Personal aims: 

Have a meeting with any other colleague that I haven't gotten to interact with. (Metric: objective achieved)

Example of a 90-Day Plan for New Employee

Focus: Execution of improvisations

Priorities: start looking into the other goals set for the rest of the year. See how best to incorporate strategies that seem productive at the end of the day.

Analyze the scorecard of my performance while identifying the areas that need improving. (Metric: observing the values of the scorecard) 

Learn about my strong points and plan my tasks according to how best I can complete them efficiently and effectively. (Metric: the creation of a work schedule that blends seamlessly with my abilities and shortcomings)

Improving how I perform my core roles at a higher level than the scorecard indicates. (Metric T.B.D.)

Formulate a new strategy that improves the working processes of an organization. Later, pitch the improvements to my superiors. (Metric: presenting my ideas and obtaining relevant feedback about them)

Sign up for extracurricular activities enacted within the business. (Metric: Actual signing up of the events)

What should a 30-60-90-day plan include?

As stated in the elements section of this article, a 30-60-90-day plan should have:

The set objectives

Metrics for gauging the performance of the plan

Set priorities of the required tasks

The focus point of conducting the plan

What template works best for creating a 30-60-90-day plan?

No 30-60-90-day plan is set in stone. 

You may look at examples of existing plans and exchange their content for your own. Nevertheless, looking for an example that best portrays your desired objectives is best.

What‘s Next

A 30-60-90-day plan should establish guidelines that propel you to achieve both short- and long-term goals. 

So, take your time and evaluate the goals you want to achieve. Then, align the 30-60-90-day plan to your mission. Commitment is key!

30 60 90 day action plan supervisor

Cole is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience. With an educational background in journalism, public relations, and social media, she has a passion for storytelling and providing useful and engaging content.

  • Successful 30-60-90 Day Plan
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A 30-60-90 day plan can help you prove to a new employer that you know your role within a new company. It demonstrates that you understand the position’s responsibilities and are prepared to tackle them, starting on day one.

A successful plan also helps you to better adapt to your new role and work environment.

What is a 30-60-90 day plan?

When to use a 30-60-90 day plan, benefits of a 30-60-90 day plan, 30-60-90 day plan template with example, 30-60-90 day plan example, tips for creating your own 30-60-90 day plan, 30-60-90 day plan tips for executives and managers.

A 30-60-90 day plan is a formalized document containing intents, goals, and actions that a new employee plans to execute to maximize his efficiency in a new role.

A 30-60-90 day plan can be used in any position or company.

For a regular employee, a 30-60-90 day plan is a way to show the interviewer that you know what to do and have a plan for this new role . It is a type of preparation that a prospective employee might opt to create before their interview, or it might be something an interviewer requests applicants to create.

For executive positions, the purpose of the plan is the same, the only difference is the scale of the plan, or the department level that it would apply to. A prospective manager would prepare the plan to show what they will do to succeed in the role.

The plan should demonstrate that new employees are able to set goals that are in line with the company vision.

This plan is ideal for those who are seeking to make a strong positive impression during an interview.

It demonstrates what you will bring to the job, highlights your seriousness about the position, and shows that your goals dovetail with those of the company.

No matter the level of the role, a strong 30-60-90 day plan can be an asset during the interview process.

Regular level employees can show the value that they will bring to the team, and higher level employees can demonstrate how their leadership will create positive effects within their team or department.

Many hiring managers want to see that their new hires are serious about their jobs and career. This plan gives insight into how a new hire plans to fulfill the goals of their new role, their understanding of various processes and how they tackle challenges.

While it is most commonly used for those who are beginning new positions, it can also be used to work on a new project. The same template can be helpful to set actionable goals and achieve them in regards to a new project that you are working on.

The banner for Career Development Plan template

A 30-60-90 day plan is a helpful tool for both the candidate and the organization.

When a candidate writes a good plan, they demonstrate competency, while potentially impressing hiring managers.

The organization can then use the plan to judge the potential candidate for suitability within the role, department or team.

Here are a few of the benefits of creating one:

1. Increased chances of being hired

Because you will be doing your homework before the interview, it proves that you are a committed team player.

This often impresses your interviewer and can give you a larger chance of being hired.

2. Positive impression on the interviewer

If you are a new employee or a potential hire, a 30-60-90 day plan can show to your employer that you know what you are doing. It demonstrates that you have a plan in place.

Prepare it prior to your interview even if your interviewer doesn’t request one.

3. Smooth onboarding

Starting a new job can be rough sometimes. A 30-60-90 day plan helps you to better integrate yourself into a new team and makes a smoother transition for you.

In creating this plan, you will have to research the role, the tasks you will be assigned, and set out plans for completing them.

In doing so, you’ll be formulating solutions, considering the best plan of attack, and gaining a deeper understanding of the job. This will help set you up for success from day one.

4. Increased productivity

Because you will have a clear goal to work toward in your first 90 days, you have better focus and increased productivity.

Each day, you should know exactly how your tasks fit into the bigger picture of your 30-60-90 day plan.

There are four key areas that should be included in your 30-60-90 day plan:

  • Personal goals
  • Actions and metrics

In each phase of your plan, you should have something that you are focused on learning.

This might mean meeting with your team to understand their pain points. It might mean learning the ins and outs of your company’s product to make better sales pitches.

Particularly in the first 30 day phase, you should be doing a great deal of learning.

This is part of your plan that should start to take shape. In what areas can you improve performance (either your own or the company’s)?

This should help you to better align your personal responsibilities with the mission of the team you work with.

Start to narrow down what the priority is so that you can better set personal goals in the next section.

This is the best place to mark down exactly what you want to accomplish.

Make sure that you have some insight into your goals and why they are essential to achieve.

This helps to keep your focus clear and doesn’t allow you to lose sight of the company’s mission.

Action and metrics

This is the stage where you determine how you will measure your progress toward your goals.

How will you know when you have achieved a goal? It is important to have specific qualifying action steps behind each one of your goals so that you do not lose momentum.

  • If you want to improve your sales pitch, then you might sit in on a sales call with a seasoned salesperson three times this week.
  • If you want to reduce the budget, you might have a goal to spend 10 percent less on office supplies.

Whatever your goal is, you need to have an action step associated with it to help you measure your progress.

During the first thirty days in your new position, you spend as much time as possible learning about your company processes, your team, product or the services you sell. This might involve things like:

  • Interviewing team members to assess their strengths
  • Joining staff on sales calls to learn more about the product or service
  • Interviewing customers to learn more about their needs
  • Spending time with customer service to determine where your product or services fall short
  • Pinpointing current goals and seeing if progress is being made
  • Reviewing the budget

Once you have a firm grasp on who you are working with and how you are expected to perform, it is time to implement new aspects of your role.

For regular employees , the focus should be stepping more fully into your role. You have taken the time to learn what that role is, now you should be beginning to deliver results and reaching good working performance.

For higher level employees , like executives or managers, you will start setting new goals for your team. Create goals based on the information you learned during the first thirty days. This is the time for you to share your new goals with the team and start to hold them accountable for the changes.

Regardless of the level of your role, this is a time for you to set goals along with actionable steps you can take to achieve them.

All goals should be specific and measurable. You should also be able to achieve them within a specific timeframe.

TIP: Set a clear metric so you will know when you have achieved each goal.

For example, if your goal is to improve your sales pitch, you might have a metric of observing a more seasoned sales professional in a number of phone calls. You might also have them listen in on a few of your sales calls to offer constructive feedback .

As you move into the first ninety days of your position, you should be ensuring that your performance is in line with company goals and the goals for your specific role.

You should have a solid foundation of knowledge regarding your job, the ability to complete your tasks properly, and an understanding of how your performance helps the organization.

For employees, this is a prime moment to look towards leadership opportunities. Ask yourself ‘what path do I want to take with this organization?’ and begin to set yourself up for that journey. Take initiative and reach out to stakeholders who may be able to help you.

For management level employees, this is when you can start to make bigger changes. Look at the overall picture of your company or department and determine where changes can be made. Ensure that each team member is where they are supposed to be, review the budget, and replace ineffective processes with new ones.

Much like your goals set for the first sixty days, all goals here should still be measurable, time-bound, and specific. While this is bigger picture thinking, each goal should still be realistic and attainable.

While some hiring professionals will come directly out and ask you for a 30-60-90 day plan, many will not.

It is still an excellent idea to create one to show just how you will stand out in the workplace.

As you begin to write this plan, you should ask yourself: What changes would you make and how would you go about your new role in the first ninety days? This will help you create a solid plan that will impress hiring managers.

1. Identify the company’s mission

You can’t create a plan until you have a clear idea of what the company is looking for.

You should spend a great deal of time researching its mission, core values, and any information you can find on its current processes or products.

Each plan should be catered specifically to the culture of the company you are applying to work for.

2. Thoroughly understand the job description

You should tailor your plan to the position that you are applying for instead of overreaching your bounds.

You might have many ideas for the company as a whole, but pay careful attention to the job description.

  • What is the role?
  • What would your responsibilities be?
  • What expectations does the company have?
  • Is there a probation period?

3. Explain your plan thoroughly

When you head into an interview, you must prepare a copy of your 30-60-90 day plan.

It can be in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, slides, or paper.

However, you should do more than just slide it across the desk and hope that they understand it. Present it to the interviewer in detail.

4. Don’t be ashamed to brag

Present your plan in great detail.

When you discuss the goals you want to set, it is important to relate these goals to accomplishments you have had in the past.

What have you done that was similar at another company? Focus on your future at this new company but don’t forget about all of the amazing things you have done in the past!

5. Identify your priorities

Setting goals can be challenging if you aren’t aware of your priorities.

Why were you hired for this exact position? Maybe your goal is to solve a specific problem within the team, or perhaps you just need to be the best you can be with your current responsibilities.

Take a few moments to think about the bigger picture of what your job should look like, and then move forward from there.

6. Set measurable goals

All goals that make it onto your list should have a means for you to measure the outcome.

Make sure that you identify how you will measure success on each of the goals that you set.

Try to list quantitative data to support your goals, such as revenue increases, increased website views, and positive customer reviews.

7. Remember to course-correct

Sometimes, starting a new position or project can be overwhelming.

You might set up your plan with the best intentions, but things can change.

If a piece of your plan no longer seems relevant or helpful, it’s okay to have the flexibility to course-correct. Change up your goals if you need to.

8. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

You’ll never get to know your team members or your products unless you are willing to ask good questions.

Spend time with your interviewer or the company representative if they are eager to communicate with you.

Ask any questions you may have about your role and what is expected of you so that you can form clear goals for your plan.

If you are an executive or a manager who has direct reports, your version of a 30-60-90 day plan might look a bit different than a junior employee’s plan.

Here are a few tips to help you get started with your own plan.

1. Take time to learn about direct reports

During your first thirty days, you should be setting aside a large portion of your time to interview your direct reports.

Find out information about them as a person, such as their dreams and goals for their position.

  • What are the pain points of their job?
  • What barriers are there that stop them from achieving their goals?
  • How would they solve those problems?

You should know what their strengths and weaknesses are so that you can see areas where they can improve.

In meeting with each person individually and attentively listening to them, you create a good impression, gain a deep, functional knowledge of your new department, and often will get insight on how to solve these problems.

All of this information can help you to see the current reality of the work environment.

As a new manager or executive, you might be able to help influence change in a way that would boost team morale and productivity.

2. Inform yourself

Consider this step as an extension of the previous one.

Not only should you gather all of the information possible from your recruits, you should spend a lot of time in your first 30 days reading reports, reviewing documentation, talking to other managers, and meeting with higher level executives.

This is the time to ask as many questions as you can, making notes on where you see issues or potential solutions.

3. Create an atmosphere of trust and alignment

During the first 30 days, work to gain the trust of those who will be working under you.

In many organizations, a new manager can represent a threat to how things work, and employees might be resistant to big changes.

You can build this atmosphere by making an effort to get to know them and listening to their thoughts, issues and solutions.

Never diminish the thoughts or opinions of your reports. If you think that they may be wrong, simply ask more questions to better understand their unique point of view. It could be that they are seeing a problem that you don’t.

By working hard at this, you can set yourself up to have a team that trusts that you will be working with their best interests in mind, as well as the organization’s.

4. Identify your strongest employees

By the end of the first 30 days, you should be able to pinpoint who your strongest employees are.

These people will form your A-team, and will be of great service to you.

These are the employees that you will want to include in important projects, as you can depend on them to drive other employees towards reaching their goals.

By having at least a few good employees who you can depend on, you can concentrate more easily on higher level issues, comfortable in the knowledge that your team will be fine without micromanagement.

Through this process, you should also be able to see where skills gaps are in your team, and begin identifying ways to close those gaps.

Plan out ways to invest in your team and grow their strengths.

5. Set SMART goals

Once you enter the second thirty days, it’s time to get some goals down on paper.

You have spent 30 days learning the lay of the land – now you should be in a position to identify issues and solutions.

Upon hiring, you will have been given a solid idea of what the organization expects of you.

After 30 days, you will be able to create actionable goals, begin implementing changes, and really stepping into your role.

6. Review processes

During the second thirty days, you should also be paying close attention to how the processes within your department work.

Often, a fresh set of eyes can see problems – and solutions – to processes that didn’t scale well, are no longer optimized, or otherwise simply don’t work as well as they could.

It is easy to get bogged down with ‘we’ve always done it this way’ and not see how change can be a positive.

As you learn how things are done, and why, you will likely be able to identify better ways of getting things done.

7. Implement changes to meet company goals

You should take everything you learned in the first 60 days, and implement changes in the final 30 days.

  • Reduce bottlenecks,
  • Implement new processes,
  • Introduce new staff or training methods,
  • Bring new ideas to achieve better performance.

From the executive level to the day-to-day management of your team or department, you should be leaning in, contributing what you can, asking questions, and generally participating to the best of your ability.

8. Identify your staffing needs

As you enter into your final 30 days, you should have a solid handle on how things are run in your department, and how capable your staff is.

Now is the time to take a close look at your staffing needs and see if they are being met.

  • Are there bottlenecks in one department, holding things up for everyone else?
  • Are there certain employees that need to take time for training before they can perform up to expectations?
  • Could things be made smoother with new hires to help ease the workload?

Look at the short, middle, and long-term goals you have set. Create a hiring plan with those in mind.

9. Conduct regular meetings

Throughout this process, you should be checking in with your team on a regular basis.

You should have weekly meetings with your team to track progress and see how things are progressing on the goals set for the sixty- and ninety-day portions of your plan.

Depending on your work environment, these may be one-on-one meetings or a weekly team gathering.

Figure out what works best for your business, and then make these meetings a mandatory part of the company culture.

Try a 30-60-90 day plan template from Altassian in Trello.

Develop and maintain Learning Culture

In this workbook, we put together tips and exercises to help you develop your organisation’s learning culture.

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Demand Generation & Capture Strategist

Ivan is a dedicated and versatile professional with over 12 years of experience in online marketing and a proven track record of turning challenges into opportunities. Ivan works diligently to improve internal processes and explore new possibilities for the company.

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Your 30-60-90-day plan as a new manager

30 60 90 day action plan supervisor

Landed a new manager position? Congratulations! Here's how to plan for your first days in the role.

Starting a new job as an engineering manager can be overwhelming. In between onboarding and getting to know your direct reports, you need to familiarize yourself with the tech stack, tooling, operations, and rhythm of the business. A 30-60-90-day plan can set you up for success in your new job. Here’s how to write one for a smooth transition.

What is a 30-60-90-day plan?

A 30-60-90-day plan is a tool for new managers or managers new to their role to gain clarity of what’s expected from them. It allows you to identify the largest challenges, and set goals. It serves as a guide, a resource, and a checklist. It’s a key part of a robust onboarding process. It’s a reminder of priorities, and defines what you plan to accomplish in the time frame.

When I moved from managing the JavaScript Cloud Advocacy team at Microsoft to managing multiple teams, drafting a 30-60-90-day plan helped me think about priorities, set realistic time-bound expectations, and identify the highest priorities for myself and my teams. I used it as a checklist for my goals, as well as who to meet with.

Six tips for making a 30-60-90-day plan

1. think big picture.

Start by identifying your big goals for the first three months, then break it down into manageable tasks for each month. Reflect on your overall priorities and identify why the company hired you. Does your team have specific long-term goals? Is there anything particularly important that senior leadership wants to see?

Start with what’s important for you. Think about the steps it’ll take to set yourself on track to be successful in the role long-term. Identify how short-term goals feed into the bigger picture.

2. Set smart goals

In each stage of your strategy plan, your goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. Try to be concise with your plan. Instead of, “Meet many product stakeholders”, try, “Schedule 5 initial 1:1s with product stakeholders in the first 30 days”, and “Set up 3 regular 1:1s with stakeholders outside of my organization within 60 days”. This way, you can measure your progress.

3. Be a sponge

Ask your manager and stakeholders what you can tackle in the first 90 days that will allow you to hit the ground running, as well as make a significant impact in the organization. Ask many questions about the company, culture, goals, and challenges. Soak up as much information as you can. Read existing strategy documents like annual road maps or objectives and key results (OKRs). Understanding existing OKRs is a great way to get a better sense of the current status of direction of different teams. Try to get your hands on ORKs for your team, your larger org, and cross-functional partner teams.

4. Meet, meet, meet

Relationships are crucial for leaders. Meet with your peers (the direct reports of your manager), coworkers with a similar role to you, anybody you’ll work with regularly outside your organization, and, if possible, the previous manager of your team. Ask many questions to understand the big picture. In each meeting, learn about the other person’s role in the company and get to know them as a person. Look them up on LinkedIn before the meeting. Maybe you have a shared interest to connect on a more personal level. I recommend listening as much as possible when you’re new, but also having a light agenda prepared, so these first meetings go more smoothly.

5. Be flexible

Remember, the 30-60-90 plan is less of a strict plan and more a general direction. The thinking and reflecting that goes into the creation of the plan is valuable in itself. Regularly check into your plan and be flexible to adjust it.

6. Level set expectations with your manager

It’s important to discuss your 30-60-90-day plan with your direct manager. Ask them to point out gaps and tasks that should be deprioritized. This helps to establish a shared understanding of expectations for your role, and clarifies short- and long-term goals.

An example 30-60-90 plan

Here’s a sample plan that you can adapt to your own position. Every role and company is unique, so don’t expect to use this plan exactly as it is, but it should make it easier than starting with a blank piece of paper.

Highest priority goals

  • Establish a rapport with each direct report
  • Build relationships with peers and partners
  • Deliver on project X

Biggest challenges

  • Lack of clarity for team priorities
  • Recent attrition of key players

Dates: July 1–July 31, 2022 Highest-priority goal(s): Understand current challenges of the team Actions:

  • Establish weekly 1:1 with each report
  • Set up 1:1s with peers
  • Learn about goals and challenges of Y
  • Get familiar with Z

Dates: August 1–August 31, 2022 Highest priority goal(s): Establish professional connections with the team Actions:

  • Career discussions with reports
  • Schedule a meeting with skip manager
  • Learn team members' strengths and weaknesses.
  • Evaluate team members' recent work performance.
  • Prioritize which projects need my attention
  • Coordinate with the team to optimize existing processes
  • Identify goals and identify whether the current resources are enough to achieve them

Dates: September 1–September 30, 2022 Highest priority goal(s): Build cross-team collaboration Actions:

  • Plan the roadmap for the next quarter
  • Eliminate processes that don't work and replace them with optimized ones
  • Improve communication tools and processes

Reflections

While an exact 30-60-90-day plan is almost never possible for an engineering manager, it’s important to begin a new job with goals. You might not check off everything on your plan, and you might complete some items earlier than expected. But the plan will be a useful tool for developing a strategy and aligning with your manager. Good luck!

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30-60-90 day plan: How to onboard new hires with ease

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A 30-60-90 day plan outlines the first 90 days of a new team member’s employment and familiarizes them with company policies, team work, and goals. This action plan helps your team members check off essential items as they adjust to their new work environment. In this piece, we’ll outline the key components of a 30-60-90 day plan and explain why having one is beneficial.

It’s universally acknowledged that the first 90 days at any company can be intimidating. This isn’t any one person or program’s fault, either. There’s a lot for your new team members to learn—including using different tools, navigating team norms, and adjusting their own expectations. But when you provide new hires with guidance and expectations, you empower them to hit the ground running from day one.

What is a 30-60-90 day plan?

A 30-60-90 day plan is an outline of a new hire’s first 90 days on your team. It lays out exactly what your new employee should accomplish, from their first week to the end of their third month in a new job. The goal of a 30-60-90 day plan is to give team members a concrete plan for getting up to speed and accomplishing their learning goals. It helps ensure every new hire feels welcomed into the company and understands the responsibilities of their role.

30-60-90 day plans often include the following milestones for each month of onboarding: 

1–30 days: The first month involves intensive training for the employee’s new position. This is when the new hire learns as much as possible about company policies, your company’s products, team structure, and job responsibilities. 

31–60 days: The second month of employment is the new hire’s opportunity to put what they’ve learned into practice by taking on new tasks. This is a key learning period, so it’s ok if your direct reports make mistakes as they get familiar with how things are done. 

61–90 days: The third month of employment is when the new hire starts mastering the skills of their job. This means your employee can now fully meet job expectations and start achieving long-term performance goals .

[Inline illustration] What is a 30-60-90 day plan? (infographic)

A 30-60-90 day plan may have similar sections for all new hires, such as company policies and resources. That said, you should also tailor many parts of the plan to fit each individual’s specific role and responsibilities .

What are the benefits of a 30-60-90 day plan?

Creating a 30-60-90 day plan helps improve your onboarding process and set new employees up for success. Onboarding can make or break someone’s experience at a new company, so it’s worth investing in. In fact, research shows that a strong onboarding process can improve employee retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%.

With a 30-60-90 day plan, you can: 

Set goals and create clear expectations for an employee’s first three months on the job.

Space out training sessions and introductions so new hires don’t feel overwhelmed. 

Ensure new team members have the knowledge, resources, and skills they need to be successful in their new role. 

Take time to communicate your core company values . 

Build trust with effective feedback throughout the onboarding process. 

Proactively creating a 30-60-90 day plan can also benefit your hiring process and interview process. Candidates often want to know what their first few months on the job will look like. Having a plan already in place helps hiring managers and recruiters paint a concrete picture for applicants during job interviews. 

What should new hires accomplish in their first 90 days?

Your new hire’s focus in the first 90 days should be to integrate into company culture and master their job description. While there’s time during this initial period for new hires to help with tasks outside of onboarding, your new team members’ initial objectives should revolve around basic acclimation.

Some accomplishments you may ask your new hire to achieve in their first 90 days include:

Learn the company’s mission

Know the organizational structure , including management roles and fellow team members

Understand the responsibilities outlined in the job description

Understand the project roadmap from start to finish

Set short-term objectives toward long-term goals

You should hold a performance review at the end of a new hire’s first 90 days to assess their progress. During this time, you can offer constructive feedback about what they’ve accomplished and how they can continue to improve in their role.

How to write a 30-60-90 day plan

Typically, you’ll write a 30-60-90 day plan before your new hire onboards or immediately after they begin their job. As a result, you probably don’t know a lot about your new hire’s personality or strengths. Instead of making your 30-60-90 day plan personal to the team member’s abilities, use your expectations for what you want them to become in their new role to customize each plan. 

[Inline illustration] How to write a 30-60-90 day plan (Infographic)

Step 1: Ask questions

Once you’ve hired someone new, start your 30-60-90 day plan by looking at the big picture and assessing how your new hire fits into that picture. Ask yourself any questions that come to mind about the job role, the onboarding process, and the team. Some questions to begin brainstorming include:

What need do you hope for this person to fill? 

What specific problem are you bringing this person in to solve?

What should this person know in order to be successful?

What will the new hire’s daily responsibilities be?

How will the new hire take part in project development?

Ultimately, your 30-60-90 day plan will give your new hire a clear idea of what the first three months will look like. Answering these questions early sets them up for success and helps them build their skills for the role.

Step 2: Set realistic expectations

Your 30-60-90 day plan isn’t a day-to-day list of activities your new hire will be working on. Rather, your goal is to give your new hire an overview of their purpose within the company. 

You should also keep in mind when you create your 30-60-90 day plan that a new team member can only do and learn so much in their first few months of employment. While you may have some dire needs to address, try not to throw too much on your new hire’s plate too fast. 

Consider what a reasonable workload should be and minimize that workload for at least the first 30 days. Expect there to be a learning curve. Then, if you find that the team member catches up quickly, you can add work to their plate as appropriate. 

Step 3: Create SMART goals

According to a 2014 study by BambooHR, the average company loses one-sixth of their new hires each month for the first three months. Setting concrete goals during onboarding can boost retention, especially if those goals are SMART—specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. SMART goals help clarify expectations and give team members clear stepping stones to follow. That way, new hires are less likely to feel overwhelmed or unengaged. 

The specific goal and success metrics you set for your new hire will depend on their particular role and level within the company. Check out some example 90-day SMART goals for different employee positions:

Writer: Successfully publish three articles for one of our clients, which includes taking each article through the entire publishing process from QA to internal edits, client edits, and final edits. 

Customer support: Work with team members to close 30 tickets, which includes learning the internal computer system and solving an array of unexpected tech issues. 

Agency: Collaborate with stakeholders to write one promotional piece. Then promote the piece to bloggers and successfully get it published on at least three websites relevant to the client.

While the new hire’s first 90 days should focus on helping them get comfortable in their new role, adding measurable goals to their action plan can give them a project to work on so they don’t feel like their only purpose is to shadow others. 

Step 4: Give them a mentor

A 30-60-90 day plan isn’t a document you’ll hand over to your new hire and then simply send them on their way to complete their duties. This document should be a reference for your new hire while they collaborate with you and other team members to accomplish tasks. 

When writing your plan, assign the new hire a mentor to give your new hire any advice or guidance they might need. This person will be their go-to guide during the first few weeks for any questions. A good mentor can help orient your new hire so they don’t feel so overwhelmed by their new work environment.

Make sure to set your new hire up with a mentor who isn’t their manager. That way, they have someone they can turn to with questions about team synergy and team norms . As their manager, you can focus on providing bigger picture guidance about long-term goals and team collaboration best practices.

Step 5: Set up regular check-ins

An important thing to remember when creating a 30-60-90 day plan is to stay flexible. Even if you feel like your plan outlines exactly what you hope for your new hire to accomplish, there’s no guarantee that the first 90 days will go as expected. 

For example, another team may need help from your new hire a week into their employment, which can derail the SMART goals you initially set for them. It’s also possible that your new hire will learn at a slower or faster pace than you expected. When you understand that the plan is an outline and not a schedule, you’ll feel better about the work you’ve put into it.

Essential components of a 30-60-90 day plan

The contents of a 30-60-90 day plan are unique to the team member joining your organization, but the framework of the plan should look similar.

The essential components of a 30-60-90 day plan include:

Company mission: Briefly state your company’s mission at the top of the 30-60-90 day plan to give your new hire an idea of what your company stands for. 

Guiding points: Guiding points may include information about your company culture and elaborate on your business’ core values . For example, these points may include things like: “Ask questions… Value relationships… Have a team mindset… Put your health first…”

Meet the team: In this section, include pictures and blurbs of the people your new hire will work with closely. This can be a good reference for the new hire as they try to learn names and team roles. 

First day overview: The first day overview is the only section of the 30-60-90 day plan that lists out a detailed schedule for the new hire. While this schedule may change, do your best to let your new hire know what to expect on their first day of work , including log-in information or how to set up their email and phone voicemail. That way, they don’t come in feeling lost and unsure about what to do or where to go. 

Top priorities: In the top priorities section of the plan, include an overview of the new hire’s job responsibilities and any needs you hope for them to fill in their new role. 

SMART goals: As mentioned above, the SMART goals you list in the 30-60-90 day plan should be measurable, job-related goals you hope the new hire will achieve within their first 90 days. 

Resources: In the resources section, list links to the company handbook, job description, team directory, and other relevant resources. You can add any resources to this section that you think the team member will find useful as they familiarize themselves with the company and the job.

30-60-90 day plan example

Not sure where to start? Check out our example 30-60-90 day plan template below for inspiration on how to optimize your onboarding process.

[Inline illustration] Essential components of a 30-60-90 day plan (Example)

Use this 30-60-90 day outline as a framework to build and customize a plan that works for each new hire that you onboard.

Streamline the onboarding process with work management tools

Printouts and documents quickly become out of date. Keep your onboarding process flexible by creating your 30-60-90 day plan with project management software . Once you share the plan, you can easily monitor your new hire’s progress—plus assign day-to-day action items to keep things on track.

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Career Sidekick

Free 30-60-90 Day Plan Template for Interviews

By Biron Clark

Published: November 8, 2023

Interview Preparation

Biron Clark

Biron Clark

Writer & Career Coach

One of the best ways to stand out in your interview is to create a 90-day business plan (also called a 30-60-90-day plan) to show employers how you’ll help them in the first three months on the job.

Having a plan to learn the job and succeed quickly is going to set you apart from other candidates and make you more attractive to employers.

Let’s look at how to create a plan that will land you the job…

How to Create a 90-Day Business Plan for Job Interviews

I recommend splitting your 90-day business plan into three sections: 0-30 days, 30-60 days, and 60-90 days.

So we’ll actually be creating a 30-60-90 day plan.

We’ll divide it into three periods, and you’ll outline different goals and milestones for each of the first three months.

I’ll help you do this below.

If you prefer to lump everything together into a single 90-day period, that’s fine too.

What to Write About in Your 30-60-90 Day Business Plan

In your business plan, you want to show the interviewer the following:

  • You understand what the job involves
  • You’re capable of quickly learning and performing the job duties
  • You’re motivated to learn and do the work
  • How you plan on learning and succeeding. Which specific steps will you take to reach your goals?

So let’s look at each 30-day period now, and what should go into each…

The First 30 Days

In the first part of your business plan, you’ll want to focus on training/learning.

The company likely has a training program (if you’re not sure, this is a good question to ask in the interview ).

So what is your plan to make the most of their training, and get up to speed quickly?

This could include reviewing and studying at home each night for the first week, staying 30 minutes late to review what you learned each day, finding a teammate to have lunches with, or finding a fellow new hire to review with (if you’re in a training class with multiple people).

Other things to talk about in the first part of your plan:

  • How will you learn about the company’s products/services ?
  • If you’re new to this industry, how will you learn the industry/market overall?
  • How will you learn this company’s systems and procedures? (They might have an employee booklet you can review, so include some time to review this in the first 30-day period of your business plan.

Your goal in this section is to show them you have a detailed plan and a lot of motivation to learn the basics of the job and understand how they operate quickly.

The Next 30 Days

The next 30 days should focus on how you’ll learn and improve by “doing”.

By now, you should be able to start using what you’ve learned to perform some of the job duties on your own.

You might be interacting with team members, customers, etc. (this will depend on your specific position)

And while learning is still a focus here, you want to show them that you plan on being ready to work hands-on and learn in a real-world environment.

Also, a big part of this section should be getting feedback from your manager to see how you’re progressing.

What is your plan for checking in, receiving and organizing feedback, and using it to improve?

Most new employees wait for their manager to set up a meeting to review their performance…

Show the interviewer that you’re different – that you’ll take initiative and be responsible for this yourself.

Employers love when a job candidate seems proactive and self-starting.

The Final 30 Days

In the final 30 days of your 90-day plan, you want to show the interviewer that you’ll be ready to use everything you’ve learned to work independently.

You’ll be up-to-speed, contributing to the team’s efforts, and not requiring any more supervision/help than anyone else on the team.

You may also want to talk about ways you’ll go above and beyond the basic job duties now.

This could include looking for processes that can be improved, finding new ways to help the company get more customers, etc.

Also, you can still include steps for getting feedback and continuing to improve.

But it should be less of a focus here. The main focus now should be on contributions, independent work, and “taking off” with what you’ve learned.

What will you be able to do for them? What will you be contributing after 90 days?

Using S.M.A.R.T. Goals

When talking about a specific goal or objective in your 90-day job interview plan, try to use SMART goals whenever possible.

SMART goals are:

Saying, “I plan on being very good at serving customers after 90 days,” doesn’t say much.

However, it sounds a lot more impressive if you say something like, “At the 90-day mark, I plan on achieving 120% of the monthly goal for customer service calls taken, and I will achieve a customer satisfaction rating of 98% or greater.”

Using “Learning Goals” and “Performance Goals”

One strategy I’ve seen used very effectively is to divide your main goals for each 30-day period into two different categories: Learning Goals and Performance Goals.

You’ll have more Learning Goals than Performance Goals in the first 30-day period.

Then, as you move through the plan, you’ll gradually shift to having more Performance Goals, and fewer Learning Goals (but still some!)

You can also add one or two personal goals, such as having lunch with one new team member per week, or visiting the gym after work two nights per week to stay healthy.

Don’t worry if this sounds complicated. Coming up soon I’m going to show you a full example of a 90-day plan for your interview, that you can copy. 

And in that sample business plan, you’ll see the three different categories laid out (Learning Goals, Performance Goals, and Personal Goals).

Creating and Formatting Your 90-Day Plan

If you’re comfortable making a good-looking document in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or some other word-processing software, feel free to use that to create your 30-60-90 day business plan.

Otherwise, I’d recommend using Canva.com .

The website has great templates for creating a PDF, and it’s free to use. I use it myself for creating images and PDF guides for this blog .

Make it EASY to Skim and Read

I’d keep the whole document to 1-2 pages maximum.

It’s an outline/presentation, not an essay. 

Try to avoid long paragraphs and giant blocks of text with no spacing.

Make it skimmable and easy to read.

Use headers, bullets, etc.

Here’s a full example of how you might lay out your 90-day plan…

30-60-90 Day Plan Template/Example:

0-30 Days: (Write your main focus and objective here. The priority should be learning and getting up to speed on the basics as quickly as possible. What will you need to learn to perform well in the job, and how will you learn it?) Learning Goals: Learn the company’s entire product offering Study the top 3 competitors’ product offerings to understand strengths/weaknesses Review training manual, and bring any questions to direct supervisor before the end of month 1 Listen to at least 4 sales calls per week with senior team members Learn all industry terminology so I’ll be ready to communicate effectively with prospects and customers Meet with supervisor at the end of each week to discuss progress, questions, and results achieved Performance Goals: Score 100% on the training manual examination on week 3 Personal Goals: Get coffee with each team member before the end of the first month 30-60 Days: (Write your main focus for the next 30 day period here. You should still be learning, but the focus now shifts to taking what you’ve learned and using it in the real world. You want to start doing the work and learning through experience). Learning Goals: Continue listening to 4 sales calls per week with senior team members Find team members to listen to at least 10 of my sales calls per week and provide feedback Meet with supervisor twice per week to ensure I continue learning and progressing as quickly as possible. This will include reviewing my sales call results and the tactics I’m using and working on as I listen to team members Take one free LinkedIn Learning course to improve my sales skills outside of work hours Performance Goals: Conduct a minimum of 12 sales calls per day Convert one sales call per week into a customer Qualify leads and do thorough research of potential clients before calling, so that at least 80% of prospects I speak with are fully-qualified for our products Follow up with each potential prospect/lead within four business days of initial conversation Personal Goals: Have at least two lunches with Supervisors or Team Leaders from other departments to grow my network and better understand how other areas of the organization work. 60-90 Days: (Now you’ll want to show that you’re ready to produce at a high level and be a valuable member of the team. Your learning is never fully done, but this section should talk far less about learning, and really focus on demonstrating what you’ll DO for the employer after 90 days on the job.) Learning Goals: Meet with supervisor once per week to track progress and continue learning sales tactics Performance Goals: Conduct a minimum of 25 outbound sales calls per day Convert 4 sales calls per week into customers Qualify leads and do thorough research of potential clients before calling, so that at least 90% of prospects I speak with are fully-qualified for our products Ask for referrals after each completed sale, and/or after determining a sale is not going to occur. Goal: Obtain five qualified referrals per week and contact each referral within 24 hours. Personal Goals: Join the gym and go every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for one hour minimum.

You can alter this example however you want. This is just one way to set up your 30-60-90 day plan for a job interview.

If you invest the time into creating a plan like this, it will make you stand out and will boost your chances of receiving a job offer.

And once you’ve created a template for yourself, you can re-use it for multiple interviews by changing the basic details to match each job.

How and When to Show Interviewers Your 90-Day Plan

The best time to mention your 90-day plan is at the beginning of the interview.

As you sit down, mention that you brought it by saying something like this:

“By the way – I put together a 90-day plan demonstrating some of the ideas I had for what I could accomplish in the first 3 months in the role. Whenever you think it fits well into the conversation, I’d love to show you some of what I was thinking.”

Now they’re immediately impressed with your preparation and effort, and they can decide whether they want to look at it immediately or discuss your 90-day plan later in the interview.

Either way, you won’t have to constantly think about finding the right to mention it, and you’ll make a fantastic first impression to begin your interview. 

The “Hidden” Benefit of Creating a 30-60-90 Day Plan for Interviews

The steps and free template above involve some work, so you may be thinking, “Is it really worth creating my 30-60-90-day plan for my interview?”

In case you’re on the fence, here’s one of the biggest benefits that you may not have realized.

Creating your plan doesn’t just show hiring managers you’re motivated and ready to hit the ground running.

It also better prepares you for the interview, and for responding to all of the questions that they’re planning on asking you.

You can’t create a 90-day plan without researching the team and company, reviewing the job description, etc.

So you’re going to have a big advantage throughout the interview in terms of showing your new manager that you grasp the role and know what’s needed in the first 30 days, 60 days, and beyond.

You’ll be able to ask better and more unique questions in the interview , too. While other candidates are asking simple questions like, “What is the company’s mission?” or, “What are the typical working hours?” you can ask advanced questions like:

“As mentioned in my 90-day plan, I’d like to be able to contribute <key goal> within the first 60 days. To do that, I’ll need to absorb as much information as possible in my first month. Can you share a bit about what type of training is provided to new hires, and what type of feedback I’d get from my new manager and team as I learn the fundamentals in those first 30 days?”

The bottom line is:

By creating a 90-day plan for your job interview, you’ll not only impress the hiring manager with your effort, but you’ll also be much better prepared for the interview as a whole so that you can land a new job faster.

Employers will see that you’re focused on being a high performer when starting a new job and that you’re already well-informed about the role and their needs and ready to contribute at a high level as soon as you’re hired. This will impress any hiring manager.

Biron Clark

About the Author

Read more articles by Biron Clark

4 thoughts on “Free 30-60-90 Day Plan Template for Interviews”

Thanks for the generous guidance. I have a job interview coming and they said they will send me the topic for creating a 30-60-90 plan the day before the interview, but never created one before, so this was very, very useful!

Is there a template please that you have

This is very timely information. I was asked to bring a 90 day plan to my face to face interview later this week. Thank you!!

Hello have you got an example of your presentation x

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