A 30-60-90 Plan is a strategic framework that outlines goals and actions for a new employee during the first 90 days of their role. It is divided into three phases:

• 30 Days: Focuses on learning and understanding the role, company culture, and team dynamics.
• 60 Days: Moves towards taking on more responsibilities and contributing actively to the team.
• 90 Days: Focuses on executing the role with full autonomy, making an impact, and preparing for long-term success.

A 30-60-90 Plan is important because it:

• Provides a clear roadmap for new employees to understand their role and expectations.
• Reduces uncertainty by setting short-term and long-term goals.
• Improves onboarding by structuring the process of learning, growing, and contributing.
• Aligns expectations between the employee and management regarding performance milestones.
• Enhances performance by focusing on the necessary skills and responsibilities at each stage of the plan.

The key components of a 30-60-90 Plan are:

• 30 Days (Learning Phase):
  
  • Understanding company culture, values, and vision.
  • Learning job-specific skills and tools.
  • Building relationships with colleagues and managers.
  • Observing processes and workflows.
• 60 Days (Contributing Phase):
  
  • Taking on more tasks and responsibilities.
  • Identifying areas for improvement.
  • Beginning to contribute to team objectives.
  • Receiving and acting on feedback to improve performance.
• 90 Days (Mastery Phase):
  
  • Taking full ownership of your role and responsibilities.
  • Delivering measurable results and achieving key performance indicators (KPIs).
  • Demonstrating leadership, initiative, and the ability to work independently.
  • Identifying long-term goals and ways to contribute to the company’s success.

A well-structured 30-60-90 Plan typically includes:

• Objectives: Clearly defined goals and milestones for each phase (30, 60, and 90 days).
• Action items: Specific tasks or activities that need to be completed to achieve the objectives.
• Key performance indicators (KPIs): Metrics to track progress and success.
• Timeline: A clear schedule to help stay on track with goals and milestones.
• Feedback and evaluation: A plan for assessing progress through feedback sessions or performance reviews.

In the first 30 days, the focus is on learning:

• Understand the company culture: Familiarize yourself with the company’s mission, vision, values, and organizational structure.
• Meet your team: Introduce yourself to your colleagues and supervisors, building strong professional relationships.
• Observe processes and workflows: Take note of how work gets done, understanding the procedures, systems, and tools in place.
• Ask questions: Clarify expectations and seek understanding about your role, responsibilities, and the goals of the team.
• Listen and learn: Absorb as much information as possible to form a solid foundation for later contributions.

In the next 60 days, the focus shifts to contributing:

• Take on more responsibilities: Start handling more tasks and projects, gradually increasing your workload.
• Contribute to team goals: Begin collaborating on team initiatives and contribute your skills to achieve objectives.
• Evaluate processes: Analyze existing workflows and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Seek feedback: Check in regularly with your manager or mentor to assess performance and make necessary adjustments.
• Develop your skills: Continue developing job-specific skills and knowledge to be more effective in your role.

In the final 90 days, the focus is on mastery and making an impact:

• Take ownership: Fully take charge of your role and responsibilities, ensuring that you can work independently and without supervision.
• Deliver results: Achieve measurable outcomes, hitting KPIs and contributing to the success of the team and organization.
• Initiate improvements: Take the lead in implementing changes or enhancements based on what you’ve learned in the previous 60 days.
• Align with long-term goals: Reflect on how your role fits into the company’s broader goals and contribute to the long-term strategy.
• Prepare for performance reviews: Be ready to demonstrate your accomplishments and discuss your progress with management.

Success in a 30-60-90 Plan can be measured by:

• Achieving set milestones: Meeting the goals and objectives set for each phase (learning, contributing, and mastering).
• Receiving positive feedback: Getting feedback from supervisors, colleagues, or mentors about your performance and progress.
• Making measurable progress: Demonstrating an increase in productivity, contributions to team goals, or improvements in skills.
• Exceeding expectations: Going beyond just meeting the requirements by taking initiative, suggesting improvements, or showcasing leadership.
• Delivering results: Contributing to the success of the company or department by delivering tangible results.

While the general structure of a 30-60-90 Plan remains the same, it can be customized based on the role:

• For Managers or Executives: Focus on leadership skills, team alignment, strategic vision, and organizational goals. Include more emphasis on stakeholder engagement, driving change, and aligning team efforts with company strategy.
• For Technical Roles: Emphasize understanding systems, processes, and tools. Focus on mastering technical skills, learning codebases, and ensuring technical contributions are aligned with team objectives.
• For Sales or Client-Facing Roles: Focus on relationship-building, learning customer needs, mastering product knowledge, and increasing sales performance.
• For Entry-Level Roles: Focus on quickly learning the systems, understanding daily tasks, and effectively contributing to team goals, while gradually increasing responsibilities.

A 30-60-90 Plan can be a useful tool during performance reviews because:

• Tracks progress: It provides a clear structure for assessing whether the employee is meeting key milestones and expectations over time.
• Evaluates achievements: It helps highlight key accomplishments and areas of growth in the first 90 days.
• Aligns expectations: Managers and employees can refer to the plan to ensure that both parties are aligned on performance metrics and goals.
• Identifies areas for improvement: It can pinpoint areas where the employee may need additional support or training.
• Sets the stage for long-term success: It ensures that the employee is on the right track to contribute meaningfully to the organization in the long term.

To make a 30-60-90 Plan actionable:

• Break down goals into smaller tasks: Instead of vague objectives, specify concrete actions that can be tracked.
• Set deadlines: Include timelines to ensure that each objective is met on schedule.
• Prioritize actions: Identify the most critical tasks that will have the biggest impact and address them first.
• Track progress: Regularly check your progress against the plan and adjust if necessary.
• Seek feedback: Continuously communicate with your manager or mentor to ensure you’re on track and get advice on how to improve.

A 30-60-90 Plan enhances employee onboarding by:

• Providing a structured roadmap: It offers clarity for new hires about what is expected of them and helps them prioritize tasks.
• Fostering confidence: Knowing exactly what to do in the first 90 days boosts confidence and reduces anxiety for new employees.
• Encouraging early contributions: By setting realistic and attainable goals, employees can start contributing quickly, even during the learning phase.
• Facilitating alignment: It ensures that new employees are aligned with team and organizational goals from the start.

Yes, a 30-60-90 Plan can be adapted for personal development by:

• Setting learning goals: In the first 30 days, focus on gaining new skills or knowledge.
• Building on strengths: In the next 60 days, focus on applying new knowledge to projects or tasks that enhance your career.
• Demonstrating leadership: In the final 90 days, focus on taking on more responsibility and showing initiative in your personal and professional growth.