User-Friendly 30 60 90 Day Plan Template & Examples [+Free PowerPoint & Excel Download]
As an HR professional, you are integral to ensuring that new hires, existing employees and promoted employees are set up for success. Our 30-60-90 day plan template for new employees will ensure that you create the best experience.
A well-designed 30-60-90 day plan, also called a 3 months plan, can help new employees and promoted employees navigate their new workplace and roles. It provides structure and direction around company culture, processes and expectations and should be integral to the onboarding process.
This article provides you with a comprehensive guide on how to conduct a 30-60-90 day plan for the onboarding of new employees as well as for internally promoted employees. We also provide you with a free 30-60-90 day plan template PowerPoint, as well as a 30-60-90 day plan template Excel download.
Contents
What is a 30-60-90 day plan?
When to use a 30-60-90 day plan
Example of 30/60/90 day plan
How to write a 30-60-90 day plan for new employees
30-60-90 day sample plan for onboarding
How to write a 30-60-90 day plan for internal promotions
30-60-90 day sample plan for internal promotions
What is a 30-60-90 day plan?
Around the world and across industries, HR professionals are tasked with onboarding new hires as efficiently as possible. How well an employee is onboarded impacts how quickly they become a valuable member of the team.
A 30-60-90 day plan is an essential tool that helps HR professionals to support a successful onboarding process by helping new hires and their managers to outline the new employee’s goals and objectives for the first 90 days in a new job. It sets clear expectations, aligns the employee’s work with the company’s goals, and empowers employees to maximize their productivity.
Although 30-60-90 day plans are most often used for new hires, they can also be extremely beneficial for employees who have been promoted to a new role or even for teams when a new project is launched.
HR’s role in the 30-60-90 day plan:
- Helping employees to visualize how they align their work and goals to the business and connect day-to-day tasks to the larger purpose of work.
- Working with managers and employees to create a clearly defined plan based on specific and measurable goals.
- Regularly checking that the plan is being followed and key metrics are being achieved.
When to use a 30-60-90 day plan
The 30 60 90 day plan for an interview
Introducing the 30-60-90 day plan during an interview can also be a great method to assess the candidate’s preparedness, strategic thinking, and ability to set and achieve goals. When a candidate presents a well-structured 30-60-90 day plan during the interview, it demonstrates their understanding of the role, industry, and organization. It provides valuable insight into what they would like in an onboarding process and how they foresee their contribution during the first 3 months.
Discussing the 30-60-90 day plan also helps the hiring manager or recruiter to evaluate the candidate’s thought process and alignment with the company’s objectives. You will quickly gain a better understanding of how the candidate prioritizes tasks and is able to set realistic goals.
The 30 60 90 day plan for new employees
Great onboarding processes matter. In fact, they matter so much that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with an organization for three years or more if they feel they had a good onboarding experience.
A 30-60-90 day plan is beneficial when an employee is new to an industry or role and you are expecting future shifts in your industry or ways of working and want to ensure new hires are ready for these challenges.
The benefits of a 30-60-90 day plan for new employees include:
- Clarifies the role of new employees, ensuring they understand their responsibilities and deliverables.
- Provides valuable insights through discussions with new hires, giving managers a better understanding of their skills and abilities, as well as what they know about the business.
- Facilitates the building of relationships with new hires through regular communication and check-ins.
- Helps new employees manage their time effectively by providing focus and direction for their tasks during their first 90 days.
Pro HR tip
While a 30-60-90 day plan should ideally be implemented immediately when a new hire joins the organization, there is always time to implement one, particularly if a new hire is struggling or underperforming.
The 30 60 90 day plan for internal promotions
Suppose the employees within your organization are invested in their professional development. In that case, it’s likely that some will advance in their careers or take on new responsibilities and a 30-60-90 day plan can help them to become effective in their new position as quickly as possible.
The benefits of a 30-60-90 day plan for internal promotions include:
- Sets clear expectations aligned with high level objectives.
- Alleviates new job jitters by serving as a clear reminder of priorities, empowering employees to self-manage their work and supporting goal setting.
Pro HR tip
When an employee is stepping into a role previously held by someone who has been promoted, allowing for some overlap can enable the new employee to learn from the knowledge and experience of the previous one. For example, starting the first 30 days of the new role while the previous employee is still there can give the new employee sufficient time to learn the ropes and gain insight.
Example of 30/60/90 day plan
1. 30 60 90 day sales plan example
| Goals/Actions | Key metric | 30 Days | 60 Days | 90 Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market research | Number of market research reports completed | Conduct market research | Analyze market data | Identify market trends |
| Prospect identification | Size of qualified leads database | Build prospect database | Qualify leads | Develop target list |
| Customer outreach | Number of initial contacts made | Initiate contact with 50% of prospects | Establish relationships | Expand customer base |
| Product knowledge | Product knowledge assessment score | Familiarize with product features | Deepen understanding | Expert-level knowledge |
| Sales training | Number of new techniques implemented | Attend sales training | Implement new techniques | Mentor team members |
| Sales targets | Sales revenue achieved | Achieve 25% of target | Achieve 50% of target | Achieve 100% of target |
| Sales strategies | Strategy effectiveness rating | Develop initial strategy | Refine strategies | Implement optimized plan |
| Reporting and analysis | Performance improvement rate | Track sales metrics | Analyze performance | Provide insights |
| Collaboration | Team collaboration rating | Communicate with team | Collaborate with peers | Lead team initiatives |
| Personal development | Skill improvement assessment score | Identify areas for growth | Pursue skill development | Enhance leadership skills |
2. 30-60-90 day plan for a new manager
| Goals/Actions | Key metrics | 30 Days | 60 Days | 90 Days |
| Team assessment | Employee satisfaction survey results | Assess team dynamics and individual performance | Identify areas for improvement and development | Improve team satisfaction and morale |
| Goal setting | Goal achievement rate | Meet with team members to understand goals | Align team goals with organizational objectives | Track and evaluate goal progress |
| Communication plan | Employee feedback and clarity of messages | Establish regular team communication channels | Ensure consistent and transparent communication | Monitor and enhance communication effectiveness |
| Performance evaluation | Performance improvement plan effectiveness | Review team performance and identify skills gaps | Provide feedback and coaching to team members | Measure performance improvement and outcomes |
| Process improvement | Efficiency improvement percentage | Identify inefficiencies in current processes | Develop and implement process improvement plans | Measure and monitor ongoing process efficiency |
| Team development | Employee development plan completion rate | Identify development needs of team members | Implement training and development initiatives | Evaluate employee growth and professional development |
| Relationship building | Stakeholder satisfaction and feedback | Identify key stakeholders and their needs | Build relationships and establish rapport | Measure stakeholder satisfaction and engagement |
| Problem solving | Time to resolution for key issues | Identify key challenges and problem areas | Develop and implement solutions | Monitor problem-solving effectiveness |
3. 30-60-90 day plan for executives example
| Goals/Actions | Key metrics | 30 Days | 60 Days | 90 Days |
| Strategic planning | Number of strategic initiatives identified | Conduct initial assessment and analysis | Define strategic goals and objectives | Develop detailed strategic plan |
| Team assessment | Employee engagement survey results | Assess team dynamics and individual performance | Address areas of improvement and development | Foster a high-performing team culture |
| Stakeholder engagement | Number of key stakeholder meetings | Identify key stakeholders and their needs | Establish rapport and communication channels | Foster strong partnerships and collaborations |
| Financial analysis | Profitability and revenue growth | Analyze financial statements and KPIs | Identify areas for improvement and cost-saving | Develop financial strategies for growth |
| Process optimization | Efficiency improvement percentage | Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies | Implement process improvements and automation | Monitor and measure ongoing process efficiency |
| Change management | Employee satisfaction and adoption rate | Assess organizational readiness for change | Develop change management plan | Execute change initiatives and measure impact |
| Performance evaluation | Key performance indicators (KPIs) | Review existing performance metrics | Set performance targets and goals | Evaluate performance and provide feedback |
| Leadership development | Employee retention rate and leadership feedback | Identify leadership development opportunities | Implement training and mentoring programs | Evaluate leadership effectiveness and growth |
4. 30 60 90 day plan for an internal promotion example
Below is an example of an internal promotion from an HR Generalist role to an HR Manager role:
Goals/Actions Key Metrics 30 Days 60 Days 90 Days Transition and learning Adaptation and knowledge acquisition rate Understand new responsibilities and expectations Learn HR Manager role intricacies Demonstrate proficiency as HR Manager Stakeholder management Stakeholder satisfaction and feedback Identify key stakeholders and their needs Build relationships and establish rapport Measure stakeholder satisfaction and engagement Team leadership Employee engagement and productivity Assess HR team dynamics and strengths Provide support and guidance to the team Improve team performance and collaboration Strategic planning Alignment of HR initiatives with organizational goals Identify key organizational goals and HR strategies Develop HR plans aligned with company objectives Implement strategic HR initiatives Performance management Employee performance improvement rate Review existing performance management processes Implement performance improvement initiatives Evaluate performance management effectiveness Talent acquisition Time-to-fill key positions Assess current talent acquisition process Streamline recruitment and selection processes Improve recruitment efficiency and quality Employee development Employee satisfaction and career development plans Identify development needs of employees Implement training and development programs Evaluate employee growth and professional development HR policy and compliance Compliance with HR regulations and policies Assess HR policy and compliance framework Update policies and ensure adherence Measure HR compliance and effectiveness
How to write a 30-60-90 day plan for new employees
Regardless of job level, improving an employee’s skills requires concrete performance goals. It is, therefore, critical to avoid vagueness in the goals, objectives and metrics included in a 30-60-90 plan.
For example, ‘increase productivity,’ or ‘become a better strategic planner’ are great ambitions, but they do not provide clear steps for achieving these objectives or how progress will be measured. Instead, the goals captured in a 30-60-90 day plan should be realistic, quantifiable, and focused.
Checklist: 30-60-90 day plan for new employees
The 30-60-90 day plan and onboarding pack should include the following:
- New employee welcome
- Planning get-to-know meetings
- Outlining high-level goals
- Clarifying short and long-term priorities
- Creating SMART goals
- 30-day goals
- 60-day goals
- 90-day goals
- Defining metrics of success
- Feedback and review checkpoints
1. New employee welcome
This is HR’s opportunity to lay the foundation for setting a new employee up for success. A great welcome helps new employees to understand where they fit into the larger organizational structure, what is expected of them, and which activities will help them get up and running as quickly as possible. It is not a complete list of their responsibilities, but rather a summary that helps them focus on the key goals and metrics they need to achieve in their first 90 days.
The welcome should include:
- Role details
- How the role supports the broader organization’s objectives
- A summary of expectations and the support the employee should expect from their manager.
HR pro tip
Personalize the welcome to the employee, their role, and how they will add value to the business, clients and colleagues. This will set the stage for a memorable onboarding experience.
2. ‘Get to know’ meetings
There is a specific list of people that every new hire should connect with to help them understand their role.
The ‘get to know’ section should include:
- Who the employee is meeting, including their name, role and experience
- Context: The key objective of the meeting
- Why this meeting will help the employee in their new role
- What topics should be discussed and suggested questions that the employee can ask to gain the most they can from the meeting
3. Outlining high-level goals
A high-level view lets new employees know what is expected of them by the end of their first 90 days. It should be outcomes based and linked to specific goals. For example, high level goals could include contributing 15% of all new sales after 90 days, building a sales plan or optimizing a new client onboarding process.
The long-term goals section should include:
- A list of outcomes-based goals to be achieved in 30, 60 and 90 days.
- Context around how this goal relates to their position. For example: As a sales executive in this organization, one of your roles is onboarding new clients.
- A clear understanding that the employee should be aiming for fluency in their role by the 90-day mark and that this plan will help them achieve this goal.
HR pro tip
Align long-term priorities to the organization’s key strategic goals. From there, work backwards to determine where the employee should be at the end of their first 90 days to be best positioned to support those priorities and which short-term goals need to be achieved within 30 and 60 days support key outcomes at the end of 90 days.
SMART goals
As an HR professional you can support new hires by helping them to set SMART goals that they can achieve.
SMART goals are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Time-Bound
Example: Instead of setting a goal to increase the company’s website, a digital marketer’s SMART goal could be to increase traffic by 2% in the first 30 days.
30-day goals
The first month is about getting to know the organization and helping the new employee find their feet. Goals here should be internally oriented towards getting to know “how to do the job.” If there are external goals, they should be small and reachable.
HR’s role:
- Work with the new employee and their manager to define between three and five goals
- Encourage the employee to learn as much as they can and to suggest which goals they believe they need to reach
- Highlight that the employee is not working in a vacuum – they should be encouraged to ask questions, learn tools and get to know the people in their team.
60-day goals
Month two should focus on helping the employee step into more role-specific activities. At the end of month two, the employee must have a more solid understanding of the basics of the organization and its pain points and be a contributing member of the team.
HR’s role:
- It is important not to overwhelm the employee as this plan is formulated as the new hire arrives.
- Work with the employee and their manager to extend their roadmap, but make it clear that they are not expected to be able to meet these goals as they start their role.
90-day goals
The aim of the 90 day plan is to ensure an employee is effectively onboarded and adding value to the business within three months. To achieve this objective, the 90 day goals should be closely aligned to the longer term performance expectations of the role. This is very much an execution phase that leverages the learnings of the previous 60 days. Its success depends on how well the 30 day and 60 day goals were achieved.
HR’s role:
- Ensure the employee understands this is the last month before they are expected to fully transition into their role.
- Set goals and expectations that can be used as the basis for the first performance contracting conversation
- Allow the employee to also state what support they need during this last month to be able to fully transition into their role.
HR pro tip
The third month is when the strategy mapped out during days 31 – 60 is executed. By this phase, the employee must be actively contributing to projects and working with their team to achieve results. Key metrics must reflect this.
4. Defining metrics of success
Each phase needs metrics. This is often covered by the measurable aspect of a SMART goal, but success lies in the detail. The deliverables of each goal should therefore be quantifiable and captured in the 30-60-90 day plan.
Having the right metrics in place not only helps a new employee visualise their role and what success looks like but gives the new employee and their manager a clear basis to measure how effective the onboarding process is and where the employee needs additional support, tools or insights. It’s also how progress can be determined through regular feedback sessions.
5. Feedback and review checkpoints
In this section, outline when both the new employee’s manager and a member of the HR team will check in with them during the 90-day process. These check-ins should be diarised.
HR’s role:
- Ensure there is adequate time in each feedback session for:
- The employee to give feedback
- The manager/leadership team to give feedback
- Metrics to be reviewed against goals
- Planning around additional support if metrics have been missed
HR pro tip
To support both managers and new employees in this journey, you can create a short template that helps them to document what was covered in the meeting, including a recap of goals, metrics, what was achieved and any key outcomes or learnings.
Our handy (and free) 30-60-90 day plan Excel document will help you to prepare a thorough plan for a new hire.
Sample 30-60-90 day plan
How to write a 30-60-90 day plan for internal promotions
You may be wondering how an existing employee will benefit from a plan that is essentially an onboarding document for new employees. The answer is simple. The goal of the 30-60-90 day plan is to help new hires understand their roles within the organization’s broader strategic goals, to know how and what they will be measured on, and to understand what success looks like. The 30-60-90 day plan also outlines the goals that need to be met to achieve these key metrics and measures of success.
The 30-60-90 day plan for internal promotions is therefore very similar to the 30-60-90 day plan for new hires with a few key differences.
Checklist: 30-60-90 day plan for internal promotions
- Congratulations and ‘get to know’ meeting
- Outlining high-level goals
- 30 day goals
- 60 day goals
- 90 day goals
- Defining metrics of success
- Feedback and review checkpoints
Sample 30-60-90 day plan for internal promotions
If you’re looking for a 30-60-day plan template for internal promotions, head to AIHR’s member-exclusive Resource Library.
HR pro tip
Adjusting the 30-60-90 plan for internal promotions is an excellent way to highlight and encourage the behaviour that earned the employee their promotion in the first place. Work with them to outline their skills and the value they bring to their team, department and the business and then align these to their short- and long-term goals.
FAQs
A 30-60-90 day plan is an essential tool that helps HR professionals to support a successful onboarding process by helping new hires and their managers to outline the new employee’s goals and objectives for the first 90 days of their employment across three 30-day phases.
A 30-60-90 day plan is a roadmap that outlines specific goals and tasks for new employees to accomplish within their first three months on the job. To create a plan:
– Identify the key objectives and expectations for the role.
– Break down the objectives into specific, measurable tasks that can be accomplished within the 30-60-90 day timeframe.
– Prioritize the tasks and assign deadlines for completion.
– Identify any training or resources that the employee will need to complete the tasks.
– Schedule regular check-ins to review progress and provide feedback.
It’s important to keep in mind that a 30-60-90 day plan should be flexible and adjust to the employee’s learning curve and individual needs.
A 30-60-90 day plan and onboarding pack should include the following:
1. New employee welcome
2. Planning get-to-know meetings
3. Outlining high-level goals Clarifying short and long-term priorities
a. Creating SMART goals
b. 30-day goals
c. 60-day goals
d. 90-day goals
4. Defining metrics of success
5. Feedback and review checkpoints
How many pages is a 30-60-90 day plan?
In general, a well-structured 30-60-90 day plan can be concisely communicated within 1 to 3 pages. But the length of a 30-60-90 day plan can vary depending on the level of detail and the specific content you need to include.
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