30 60 90 day action plan for new job

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

Published: December 29, 2022

Worry often comes along with the excitement of a new job. What if you can't adapt to new people, processes, and team-wide dynamics quickly enough to make a great impression?

Fortunately, there's a way to organize and prioritize your time and tasks, helping you seamlessly adapt to your new environment: The 30-60-90 day plan. Creating and following an effective plan enables you to soak in as much information as possible, master your core job responsibilities, and make a lasting impact on your new team.

In this post, we'll cover everything you need to know about building the best 30-60-90 day plan for your new job.

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.

There are two situations where you'd write a 30-60-90 day plan: during the final stages of an interview process and during the first week of the job itself. Here's how each type can be executed:

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. They want to see if they can organize their time, prioritize the tasks they'd likely take on, 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.

Of course, it can be difficult to outline your goals for yourself before you accept a new job. So, how are you supposed to know what those goals are? Start with the job description. Normally, 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 staggered over the course of three months.

For example, if a job requires three years of experience in Google Analytics, and the responsibilities include tracking the company's website performance every month, use these points to develop an action plan explaining how you'll learn the company's key performance metrics (first 30 days), strengthen the company's performance in these metrics (next 30 days), and then 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. If you're the hiring manager, this plan will allow you to learn how the new employee operates, address any of 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 job 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.

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.

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 your bar for success at every stage.

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 larger 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 next 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. It's worth sitting down with your manager to pinpoint a primer that's in line with both your goals and desired company outcomes.

The theme is a quick-hitter sentence or statement that sums up 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 might want to learn new HTML or CSS skills .

Performance Goals

Performance goals speak to specific metrics that demonstrate improvement. These might include making one more content post per week or reducing the number of revisions required by management.

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 Plan for Managers [Template]

Almost all 30-60-90 day plans consist of a learning phase, a contributing phase, and a leading phase — which we'll go over in the example plan below. This includes plans that are designed to guide people in new management roles. What sets apart a manager's plan from any other is their obligation to their direct reports and the decisions they're trusted to make for the business.

If you're accepting (or hiring for) a new manager role, consider any of the following goals and how to roll them out at a pace that sets you up for success.

Featured Resource: 30-60-90 Day Sales Onboarding Template

Download the Free Onboarding Template

Get to know your team's strengths and weaknesses.

Recommended phase: first 30 days.

Everyone is learning the ropes in their first month at a company. For managers, much of that learning happens by talking to the team.

If you're a new manager, grab some time with your direct reports and get to know their roles. What do they like about them? What are their biggest pain points?

Making your team happy is a hard goal to measure, but it's an important responsibility to take on as a manager. Your first step is to figure out how you'll manage and coach your employees through their day-to-day work.

Help a direct report acquire a new skill.

Recommended phase: second 30 days.

Even though you're new to the company, you were hired for a reason: You've got skills. And you can bring these skills to the people you work with, particularly those people who report to you.

After meeting with and learning about your new colleagues, you might use the second month of your on-boarding plan to find skill gaps on your team that you can help fill.

Do you have expert-level experience with HubSpot, and your new company just started using HubSpot Marketing Hub ? Teach them how to do something in the platform they didn't know before.

Improve the cost-effectiveness of your team's budget.

Recommended phase: final 30 days.

Managers often have access to (and control over) the budget for their department's investments — things like software, office supplies, and new hires. After you spend the first couple of months learning what the team spends its money on, consider using the final 30 days of your plan to make suggestions for new investments or how to reallocate money where you think it needs to be.

Is there a tool that can automate a task that's taking your team forever to do manually? Draft a financial strategy that includes this tool in the following quarter's budget.

Draft a training strategy that can help guide your direct reports into new roles.

You won't be expected to promote people in the first three months of your new job, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have learned enough about your team to decide who's good at what and how to coach them to where they want to be.

In the final 30 days of your 30-60-90 day plan, you might agree to a goal to develop a training strategy that outlines how to manage your direct reports, and ultimately how to guide them into new roles in the future.

30-60-90 Day Plan for Executives

Executives are a little different from managers in that there are higher performance expectations coming in. As an executive, you'll need to be highly engaged with the organization from the first day and implement high-impact changes in your role as soon as you can. At the same time, context is important, and you'll need to understand the culture, team, current operating processes, and challenges before you solve for them.

Here are some critical steps to include in your 30-60-90 day plan in an executive role.

Soak up as much information as possible.

There's no point in taking action without context, so start your ramp-up period by gathering information and charting the lay of the land. That means reviewing existing documentation, attending as many meetings as you can, meeting with direct reports and skip levels, and asking a lot of questions.

Create alignment between you and the team.

In the first 30 days, you'll be meeting new people and understanding their roles in the organization. Ultimately, your job as an executive is to set the vision for the organization while removing roadblocks for your team as they strategize and execute on it.

One of the best questions you can ask as you familiarize yourself and align with your team is, "In your opinion, what are some existing threats to our business (external or internal)?"

This shows that you care about their opinion and trust their expertise while getting unique perspectives from multiple vantage points in the organization. Plus, if you start hearing some of the same points from multiple team members, you'll be able to identify the biggest pains, equipping you to make the highest impact changes.

Identify the A players on the team.

An A player is a member of your team that goes above and beyond what's expected in their role. While not every employee will be an A player, you'll want to ensure that critical roles and teams have at least one A player to lead, inspire, and strengthen camaraderie.

From there, you can figure out the existing gaps in staffing and training, whether it's team members who need a lot of guidance and must be coached up to performance or empty roles that need to be filled altogether.

Create goals based on what you've learned.

When you are interviewing or shortly after you're hired, you'll get a feel for the types of pains that the executive team has and the objectives in mind for bringing you on.

Once you have more context about how the organization works, you can take this vision and translate it into concrete, measurable goals that will take your department to the next level.

Diagnose process issues.

Companies of all sizes run into operational issues as they implement processes that are efficient and work at scale. Sometimes, when an executive team isn't aligned with middle management, processes can become unwieldy.

Learn why things are done the way they are and then figure out if there are workarounds you can implement to streamline operations. Perhaps it's as simple as eliminating bottlenecks or adding automation to certain functions.

Put together and implement a hiring plan.

You know your A and B players, and you hopefully have a plan to retain, invest in, and mentor them. However, you'll likely come across gaps that you need to fill and positions that need to be created to eliminate bottlenecks. From there, you'll want to create a hiring plan to execute, both for short-term, middle-term, and long-term needs.

Effect changes in operations.

Speaking of bottlenecks, your final 30 days of your plan should be focusing on the areas of the business that can achieve the results the fastest. Once you've identified these, you can focus on removing these roadblocks to start hitting goals and achieving higher performance.

Contribute to broader company goals.

As a member of the executive team, you'll also be looped in one high-level company initiatives, and the other executives of the company will be relying on you to contribute your deep discipline, expertise, and experience.

Be ready to lean in on executive meetings and contribute to the vision and strategy of the organization as it moves forward.

How to Write a 30-60-90 Day Plan

No matter what the level of the job for which a company is hiring, improving an employee's skills requires concrete performance goals, so watch out for vagueness in the objectives you set for yourself.

"Write a better blog post," or "get better at brainstorming" are terrific ambitions, but they don't give you a way to measure your progress in them. Set goals that are realistic, quantifiable, and focused. You'll know exactly how to achieve them and gauge your success.

To write challenging yet feasible performance goals, you need to:

Understand your team's goals.

Try to understand the purpose behind your team's goals. It'll give you more insight into why you and your team should achieve them, motivating you to work as hard as possible to meet those goals.

Identify top priorities.

By connecting your personal responsibilities to your team's goals, you'll know exactly how to align your tasks with the needs of the team, which keeps you accountable and compels you to help your team achieve their goals.

Define specific progress measurements.

Tracking your progress helps you gauge your performance and rate of improvement. To see how you're doing, set up weekly meetings with your manager to ask her what she thinks of your work and track the improvement of your own performance metrics, like the growth of your blog posts' average views or the amount of qualified leads your eBooks generate.

Reaching your performance goals isn't the only path toward future success in your new role, though. You also need to study the ins and outs of your team and company, take initiative, and develop relationships with coworkers — all things that a lot of new hires underestimate the importance of.

Consider setting the following types of goals during each stage of your 30-60-90 day plan:

• Learning Goals How will you absorb as much information as possible about your company, team, and role?
• Initiative Goals - What will you do to stand out?
• Personal Goals - How will you integrate with your company and team?

Aiming to achieve these types of goals will help you hit the ground running in all the right areas of your job. And if you stick to your plan, you'll notice you'll be able to spend less time learning and more time executing.

30-60-90 Day Plan Template

Download Your Free Template

HubSpot's 30-60-90 day plan template includes space for all key elements of your plan — primers, themes, and goals — making it easy for both you and your manager to see exactly where you are in the plan, what comes next, and how things are going so far.

While our template is a great starting point, it's worth cross-referencing this high-level plan with a more detailed description of your goals and desired outcomes to ensure you're aligned with company expectations.

30-60-90 Day Plan Example

Using our template, we've created a quick 30-60-90 plan example for new employees.

Many new hires are eager to impress, so they dive head-first into their work or try to make suggestions about their team's process with limited experience in how their new team operates. But have patience.

Understanding your company's vision and your team's existing strategy is crucial for producing high-quality work and actually making an impact. If you don't know the purpose behind your role or the optimal way to perform, you'll risk missing the mark and your early efforts won't pay off the way you expect them to.

It's always better to over-prepare than under-prepare. And it's okay to take time to learn the ropes — it pays huge dividends in the long run. In the first 30 days of your employment, your priority is to be a sponge and soak in as much information as possible. Once you do that, you can then try to improve more specific parts of your team's work style.

Theme: Be a Sponge

• Study my company's mission, vision, and overarching strategy.
• Read my company's culture code to learn more about our company culture and why we implement it.
• Read the customer persona and target audience overview to truly understand who our customers are, their pain points, and how our product and content can help them.
• Meet with my team's director to learn about how meeting our goals will help our business grow.
• Read up on our team's new SEO strategy, editorial process, and traffic goals.
• Learn how to use the SEO Insights Report to plan and structure blog posts.
• Review my team's pillar-cluster model overview and understand how to match posts to clusters.
• Meet with my manager to learn more about her expectations.
• Complete new hire training and pass the test with a 90% or higher.
• Be able to write 3 blog posts per week.
• Run the Facebook Instant Article experiment that my manager recommended me to do.
• Grab coffee with everyone on my team, so I can get to know them on a professional and personal level.

By the end of your first 60 days, you should ramp up your workload, start overachieving, and make a name for yourself on your team.

To do this, start speaking up more at meetings. Don't be afraid to share your ideas about improving your team's processes. This shows you're quickly conquering the learning curve and recognizing some flaws that your colleagues might have overlooked. You still have a fresh perspective on the company, so your insight is invaluable.

Theme: Be a Contributor

• Learn how to optimize a new post from scratch based on both the SEO Insights Report and my own competitive research.
• Read every other marketing team's wiki page to learn about other marketing initiatives and how our entire department works together to grow our business.
• Deep dive into my company's product roadmap and strategy to fully grasp our mission and vision.
• Be able to write 5 blog posts per week.
• Be down to one cycle of edits per post.
• Understand how to edit a guest post -- clean up at least one rough draft.
• Share content strategy ideas at my team's monthly meeting and ask if I can spearhead the project to boost blog traffic.
• Ask my manager if I can oversee Facebook messenger and Slack distribution strategy.
• Meet with my colleagues on other teams to learn about their marketing initiatives and develop relationships outside of my team.

By the end of your first three months, you should have a firm grasp of your role, feel confident about your abilities, and be on the cusp of making a breakthrough contribution to your team. Instead of reacting to problems that pop up at random, be proactive and spearhead a new initiative for your team.

You should also be cognizant of how you can collaborate with other teams to improve your own team's processes. By taking on some new projects outside of your main role, you'll start turning some heads and catch the attention of the department at large.

Theme: Be a Leader

• Do an analysis of my highest and lowest-performing blog post to date. How can I use this information to optimize new content so it performs better out of the gate?
• Be comfortable with writing five blog posts per week
• Edit one guest post per week
• Try to have 75% of my blog posts not require revisions.
• Write at least one new post that generates over 10,000 views in one month.
• Ask SEO team if they want to partner with the product marketing team to brainstorm content topics related to our product road map.
• Ask social media team if they're willing to develop a relationship where we can share each other's content.
• Ask sales team what our customers' pain points are, so we can write content that our target audience craves and help them close more qualified leads.

30-60-90 Day Plan Team Leader Example

Now, let's apply that same template to a team leader role with another 30-60-90 plan example.

During the first 30 days, the goal of a team leader should be to cultivate connections with their team members and discover where they excel, where they struggle, and where they could use help. Creating these relationships lays the foundation for solid communication over time, in turn leading to better results.

Theme: Cultivate Staff Connections

• Identify strengths for all team members.
• Pinpoint current challenges in accomplishing team goals.
• Encourage staff connections through honest communication.
• Reduce project completion times by 25 percent.
• Increase team member output by 5 percent.
• Establish a mentorship connection with one staff member looking to advance in their role.
• Arrange one out-of-work activity for staff.

For the second month, team leaders may want to focus on putting the connections they've made to good use and creating a mindset of success across the department. In practice, this means establishing clear goals and specific metrics and working alongside staff to deliver key outcomes.

Theme: Create a Culture of Success

• Understand where previous team leaders have struggled.
• Identify common themes in goals not being met.
• Clearly define starting points, milestones, and end goals for projects.
• Ensure current project deadlines are met.
• Deliver at least one project component ahead of schedule.
• Take ownership of one complex task to continue developing team culture.
• Based on current project goals, brainstorm two new potential projects.
• Look for ways to integrate current efforts with sales, marketing, or social media teams.
• Make time for mindfulness practice at work to help improve your focus.

The last month of your 30-60-90 plan may focus on ensuring the framework you've built can be replicated on the next team project and finding new opportunities for your team members to excel.

Theme: Identify New Opportunities

• Convene with staff to see what worked and what didn't during the project.
• Look for outcomes that exceeded expectations and discover what sets them apart to help drive improved processes.
• Become confident in assigning staff specific tasks with minimal oversight.
• Create a regular performance review structure that focuses on helping staff achieve their best work.
• Identify areas for reasonable cost-savings that don't disrupt current processes.
• Look for team members with a passion for leadership and encourage their growth.
• Transition into a more hands-off leadership style that demonstrates trust in employee autonomy.

30-60-90 Day Plan Marketing Strategist Example

During the first 30 days, the marketing strategist will analyze current campaign performance to discover what works, what doesn't work, and how strategy can be improved. The marketing strategist will also work with team members and stakeholders to learn more about existing processes. Investigating performance lays the foundation for how strategy can improve in the future.

Theme: Analyze Current Performance

• Get familiar with the company's product, mission, positioning, and goals.
• Consult with stakeholders to discuss existing processes, tools, and buyer personas.
• Learn about completed and ongoing experiments and their results.
• Conduct content audits and competitor analyses in order to uncover performance gaps.
• Meet with sales reps, account managers, and customer support team members to learn more about customer wants and needs.
• Get lunch with new team members in order to get to know them better.

By day 60, the marketing strategist will have identified performance gaps based on the work done during the first 30 days and begun work on brainstorming ways to close those gaps.

Theme: Identify Performance Gaps

• Research and brainstorm potential new processes that will help improve performance gaps.
• Identify areas for improvement based on the results of the performance audits and competitive analysis.
• Meet with finance team to discuss budget for new marketing experiments and initiatives.
• Deliver an experiment proposal that is aimed at improving one of the gaps found during the audits.
• Join an interest-based Slack channel to connect with colleagues on other teams.

For the third month, marketing strategists may focus on ensuring the research framework they've built can be replicated for new projects and launch experiments aimed at closing performance gaps.

Theme: Launch New Experiments

• Identify performance outcomes that exceed expectations and see what sets them apart from outcomes that do not exceed expectations.
• Develop a system for measuring and analyzing campaign performance.
• Launch a new experiment aimed to help close a performance gap discovered during earlier analyses.

Making the Most of Your First Months

The first few months at a new job are critical in answering key questions: Is the company a good fit? Can you meet (and exceed) expectations? What does your long-term career plan look like?

Building a robust 30-60-90 day plan can take some of the pressure off by providing a framework for success that combines big ideas with specific goals to help drive success.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in April 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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What Is a 30 60 90 Plan?

When should i make a 30-60-90 day plan, why is a 30-60-90 day plans important, how to write a 30-60-90 day plan: tips for 2023, long-term goals, final thoughts, how to write a 30-60-90 day plan (2023 guide).

Updated September 4, 2023

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If you are about to start a new job or are preparing for an interview a 30-60-90 day plan will help you on your route to success.

The 30-60-90 plan is a document that outlines your first 30, 60 and 90 days in a new job.

It should detail everything you want to achieve in your first three months of employment and the SMART goals to facilitate this.

If done correctly, this plan will help make a good first impression, for it shows your employer or recruiter that you are motivated, dedicated and have taken the time to learn about the company.

For those wanting to freelance or register as self-employed , a 30-60-90 day plan gives you focus, and a solid route to success.

If you are new to career planning , creating a 30-60-90 day plan could seem complicated and unnecessary.

However, creating goals and actionable steps is proven to help you reach success more efficiently.

This article will instruct you on creating the best plan for you, with examples to get you started.

The purpose of a 30-60-90 plan is to set the groundwork for career advancement.

You should make:

30-60-90 Day Plan for Interview: In the final stages of your interview process 30-60-90 Day Plan for New Job: In the first week at your new job

Showing your plan in the last stages of the interview process separates you from the rest of the candidates.

It shows you are serious about your career and have the skills to develop a strategy.

The one you create during your initiation week will be similar to what you showed at your interview.

The only difference is that you will now have to deliver on what you have committed to.

30-60-90 day plans are not just useful for recruitment and impressing your new employer. These plans can also be used:

• For project management
• After performance reviews
• To help with personal development

30-60-90 day plans offer many benefits, including:

• Defining your priorities
• Creating a clear focus for the next three months
• Facilitating a smooth integration into your new company and role
• Showing you are capable of self-management skills
• Indicating that you are worthy of investment
• Highlighting the areas you need to improve

What Should a 30-60-90 Day Plan Include?

In each section of your 30-60-90 day plan, you will have four main elements:

• Your specific focus
• The top priorities
• SMART goals
• The metrics you will measure your success

Your focus for each month will be different, and depending on the success or failure of the previous month, you may need to change the next focus for the next month.

Usually, in month one, you will focus on learning about your role, getting to know your team, and understanding company policies and procedures.

Month two is more about contributing, planning and developing skill sets .

Month three is about the execution and preparing yourself for the next stage.

Top Priorities

Once you have established your main focus for the month, you need to outline your priorities.

These should be more specific than your focuses and less specific than your SMART goals.

For example, in your first month, your focus could be to learn the company's policies and procedures.

Depending on your job role, a priority may be to learn the internal processes first.

A priority for the second month could be to begin working independently.

A third-month priority may be to present a solution to a problem the company is currently facing and prepare for your performance review .

SMART Goals

Goal-setting is your roadmap to achieving your priorities.

For your 30-60-90 plan, you want to focus on short-term goals .

These are the small steps you take that make achieving success easier.

Every goal should follow the SMART acronym, meaning they should be:

You are not limited to one goal; however, you also should not overwhelm yourself.

You can also add goals later if you feel you need to adjust your direction or have completed the ones you already set.

Your goals should also cover all areas of personal and professional development, so try to write goals for the following categories:

• Learning goals – The knowledge and skills you need to develop to be successful.
• Performance goals – Concrete things you want to complete, such as workshops and daily targets.
• Personal goals – The relationships you want to develop, how you want to be viewed by your colleagues.

Measurement is part of your SMART goal acronym; however, it should be highlighted as your final section to give you a clear indication of when you have achieved something.

A metric could be a specific date, value, a completed task or time spent doing something. Basically, anything that allows you to track your success.

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Before writing your 30-60-90 day plan, consider the following:

Step 1 . Know Your Why

Before you make your plan, you need to know why you are making it.

Your reasons could be:

• For you and your manager to understand each other better
• So you get the support you need
• To make the most out of your employment
• To facilitate your career strategy

Step 2 . Understand Your Role

Use the job description to help you understand what exactly you are being hired to do.

Your employment needs to benefit the employer so ensure that your priorities and goals feed into your job description.

Step 3 . Ask the Unpleasant Questions

In interviews and at the beginning of our employment, we tend to shy away from questions about money and promotions .

No one wants to seem ungrateful or that they are overstepping.

However, if you do not ask, you will not know what a realistic goal is.

Try wording your questions like:

• ”What is the typical or average time for a promotion?"
• ”How often do promotions come up?"
• ”What is the typical route to getting a promotion?"

If your goal is to get a promotion fast , you need to know what time frame you are working with.

There is nothing wrong with being curious, and your manager may appreciate your enthusiasm.

Step 4 . Get to Know Your Colleagues

Gaining the trust of your colleagues will help you understand the company quicker.

As you and your colleagues get to know each other, they will share their experiences at the company: which managers are friendly, how often promotions come up and what they have done in their own career development.

All this information will help you gauge what goals you can achieve and how.

Step 5 . Accept That You Will Have to Be Flexible

Many external factors can affect your plan, from pandemics to restructuring to technological advancements.

Be prepared that you may need to make adjustments and that things may take longer than you want.

Step 6 . Try to Create Your Plan With Your Manager

Creating your plan in the first week of your employment with your manager is the ideal scenario.

It allows both of you to get clear on expectations, responsibilities and time frames.

Do not hesitate to broach the topic first, as it may not be something they actively do.

Your manager might not be used to having a proactive employee and will be impressed by your initiative.

Alternatively, they may not be a supportive manager. In this case, gather as much information as you can and create your own plan.

It is important to note that if your manager is not forthcoming with feedback or wanting to develop a plan with you, you may be working in a hostile environment.

One of your priorities could then be to initiate a change in the company or learn all you can from them and look for another job.

Step 7 . Decide What Success Looks Like

Everyone has a different definition of success.

For some, it is being the top salesperson and making the most money.

For others, it is getting control of their personal finance and being content in their professional and personal life.

Before setting your goals, decide how you are going to define and measure your success.

How to Create a 30-60-90 Day Plan With Examples for 2023

There is no definitive way to write a 30-60-90 plan. You need to include specific things, but the process and format are whatever works for you.

You may want to start chronologically, deciding what comes first and ending with your 90-day goals.

Alternatively, you can work backward.

To use this method, visualize where you want to be in three months and work your way back to the present day, making a note of all the steps you need to take.

If you have practiced law of attraction you will know that visualizing what you want to achieve is an essential part of getting there.

Depending on your job role and industry, your priorities and goals will be different.

A salesperson will have a very different plan to someone working in marketing, who will have a different plan to someone working in healthcare.

The following examples are general focuses, priorities and goals that could be applied to almost everyone.

However, your plan should be specific and personal to you.

Example of a 30-Day Plan

Focus: Settling in and getting to know my new surroundings. Priorities: Learn the essentials of my role, learn who my team members are and the company culture. Understand the expectations of my manager and how the internal processes work. Learning goals: Gain access to all accounts I need to do my job and familiarize myself by the end of week one. Metric: Task completed Read all materials available to me regarding internal processes and procedures, and ask my manager for additional recommendations by day 15. Metric: Reading completed Shadow a colleague to familiarize myself with the workday and workflow by the end of day 7. Metric: Successfully spent the day shadowing. Make notes of company culture , including how breaks and lunches are assigned/taken, how feedback is given, who seems approachable and the favored communication techniques and language used by day 21. Metric: Confident understanding of company culture. Performance goals: Complete three tasks or responsibilities without supervision or guidance by day 14. Metric: Completed a task/made a sale/contacted three clients. Arrange a meeting with my manager to get constructive feedback and new targets by day 21. Metric: Meeting confirmed. Personal goals: Introduce myself to all team members and learn about their roles in the company and something about their personality by day 30. Metric: Task completed.

Example of a 60-Day Plan

Focus: Actively start contributing. Priorities: Independently perform my role at full capacity and begin to assess if and how things can be improved. Learning goals: Attend any workshops or webinars that will help me understand my job role better, and ask my manager for any recommendations by day 50. Metric: Three workshops or webinars attended. Familiarize myself with external policies, procedures, and software to see if anything can be improved by day 60. Metric: Reading completed. Performance goals: Complete a whole week in my role without supervision or guidance by day 60. Metric: Task completed. Arrange a meeting with my manager for feedback and new targets by day 60. Metric: Meeting confirmed. Personal goals: Complete two courses in my own time, such as free online courses to develop new skills that will benefit me and my role. Metric: Two courses completed. Schedule an informal meeting with a colleague I have not yet had the chance to talk with by day 45. Metric: Task completed.

Example of a 90-Day Plan

Focus: Taking initiative and establishing my position in the company. Priorities: Explore small ways to demonstrate leadership skills and improve productivity. Explore options, goals and priorities for the next nine months. Learning goals: Analyze my current performance to see which areas I am strong in and which need developing by day 90. Metric: Task completed. Assess what responsibilities I enjoy, which ones I do not, and if my targets are realistic or need reassessing by day 90. Metric: Task completed. Performance goals: Develop an idea, procedure or initiative to lead and pitch it to my manager by day 90. Metric: Idea pitched. Perform tasks at a higher level by generating more sales/income/press coverage by day 80. Metric: Personal targets met. Arrange a meeting with my manager to evaluate my first three months and decide the next steps together by day 90. Metric: Meeting done, new targets discussed. Personal goals: Take advantage of employee benefits and get involved with the company personally by joining a company-sponsored team or corporate volunteer day by day 70. Metric: Task completed

This section is not part of the 30-60-90 day plan; however, knowing your long-term goals is very beneficial.

You do not have to write them in the same way as the monthly plans.

Instead, you can write a list of what you hope to achieve in the future and by when.

Examples of long-term career goals are:

• Gain a promotion within three years of joining
• Get management experience by the end of 2022
• Establish myself as a thought leader by 2025

Your long-term career goals can be as ambitious as you want them to be. But having them written down and using them to influence your goals and priorities will help you achieve them.

Writing a 30-60-90 day plan is a gift you are giving to your future self.

It helps you focus, keeps you motivated and prevents you from getting complacent.

For the employer, showing your plan indicates you are keen to make an impression, have initiative, and are capable of formulating a strategy.

Try using these plans continuously in your career and personal life to ensure you reach your full potential.

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How to Write a 30-60-90 Day Plan (+ Template)

A 30-60-90 day plan can set you up for success in your new job. Find out how to write one for a smooth transition.

A 30-60-90 day plan is a set of objectives for new employees to achieve in their first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job. The plan is meant to smooth the transition into a new role, give direction to what can be a confusing time, and allow the employee and managers to set expectations and monitor progress.

The specifics of how to format or what to include in a 30-60-90 day plan may depend on your workplace or team. Still, the fundamentals may be universal. Here’s a template and guide to get your plan started.

30-60-90 day plan template

A 30-60-90 day plan will have clear objectives for each 30-day increment and key details that flesh out and support those objectives.

Here’s a pared-down template for a 30-60-90 day plan that you can customize according to your needs.

How to write a 30-60-90 day plan

The specific goals outlined in your 30-60-90 day plan can be as detailed or broad as you need them to be. Generally, you’ll want to include overall objectives and specific ways to measure your progress toward those objectives.

Each goal will be different, depending on your role and expectations. Check with your manager to see if there are specific templates or methods the organization uses to set out 30-60-90 day plans.

1. Clarify short- and long-term priorities.

Understanding what the role’s greater purpose is for the organization will help you define the short-term goals you should set. Make sure you have a good grasp on what’s expected of you in the role. This might be a good time to consult your manager—or if you’re a manager, key team members—to ensure your expectations are aligned.

2. Set an objective for each phase.

Once you have a good understanding of your role, you can lay out objectives for your 30-, 60-, and 90-day marks. Think about the steps it’ll take to set yourself on track to be successful in the role long-term. The first two phases might entail learning and aligning yourself with company goals. Aim for fluency in your role by the 90-day mark. A typical progression might look like the following:

30-days: Learn as much as you can. Ask questions, learn tools, and get to know the people on your team and the organization’s objectives. 

60-days: Align yourself with team and organization priorities. The second phase can also be considered a learning phase, but try to go deeper. Now that you have a more solid understanding of the basics of the organization, try to see how new ideas might get folded in. What are some pain points the organization or your team is facing? What else do you need to know to do your job better?

90-days: Execute. Take what you’ve learned and apply it to your work. 

This is one example of how you might lay out your first 90 days on the job. Yours might look completely different—for example, you might relegate the entirety of your 90 days to continuously learn different parts of the job, if your role calls for it. 

3. Fill in key details.

Once you have your overarching objectives in place, determine several ways you’ll achieve each—anywhere from two to five, depending on your needs. 

What are SMART goals?

SMART goals are specific , measurable , achievable , relevant , and time-bound . (Some resources might use different adjectives, like “agreed-upon” or “reasonable.”) SMART goals clarify the actions you’ll take to set yourself up for success in achieving your objective and determine metrics for success so you know when you’ve accomplished them. For example, instead of setting a vague objective like “Increase website page views,” you might say: “Increase the number of website page views by 10 percent by the end of month.” You might then go on to determine actionable ways to achieve this, like “Publish three social media posts a week” or “Increase search engine results page ranking by five positions by including relevant keywords.”

Watch the video below for more about SMART goals.

How to write a 30-60-90 day plan for an interview

You may be asked to create a 30-60-90 day plan in an interview. This allows the recruiter to see what kinds of ideas you have for the role and how you would manage your first few months on the job. While it might seem hard to write a 30-60-90 day plan for a job you’re still interviewing for, keep in mind that the interviewer knows this and won’t expect you to have a perfect plan right away. 

1. Use what you know. Use the information you have on hand via the job description, and ask any relevant questions (for example, “What are the team’s immediate priorities?”).

2. Ask for some time to sketch out your ideas. Take a minute or so to organize your thoughts and think through what the main objectives of your 30-60-90 day plan would look like.

3. Fill in key details. Once you have your main objectives, try to come up with a few ways you would achieve them—use SMART goals if you can. If you don’t have a lot of information, these can be hypothetical. 

Read more: How to Prepare for an Interview

Getting started

With a 30-60-90 day plan, you can ensure the first three months of your new job have clear direction. Start developing a 30-60-90 day plan for your next role with Assimilating into Your New Job , a free Guided Project that you can complete in less than an hour.

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Learn how to craft a winning 30-60-90 day plan for any new role. Download the free template with examples for employees, managers, and executives.

October 30, 2023

So, you've started a new job or are about to onboard a new team member. What's next?

Starting a new job can be exciting and daunting at the same time.

How can you or they ensure a good impression and getting the most out of your first few months?

Having a plan with clear goals and strategies can really make a difference. A 30-60-90 Day Plan is a great way to start. It gives you a clear guide for your new responsibilities and helps you show your value to the team and company.

In this article, we'll show you how to create a winning 30-60-90 Day Plan. We'll cover what it is, why you need one, what to include, and how to put it together quickly. And of course, we include examples, free templates, and even an AI-powered plan generator.

Let’s dive in!

What is a 30-60-90 day plan?

30 60 90 Day Plan is a detailed schedule that spans over 30 days and includes specific goals and actions. Each phase builds upon the previous one, resulting in a clear guide to maximize efficiency and achieve clear results within a period of time.

During job interviews, it's common to be asked for a 30-60-90 day plan. It's a test of your commitment and ability to be an asset to the company.

A 30-60-90 day plan is also a powerful tool for managers and employees during a transition period, such as starting a new job, taking on a new role in a company, or embarking on a new project. ‍

• ‍ 30 Days - This is focused on getting up to speed quickly in the new role. Key goals are to build relationships, learn the organization's goals/strategy, understand the responsibilities of the job, and identify any early wins.
• 60 Days - This phase is about analyzing, learning, and further integrating into the organization. Goals include gaining a deeper knowledge of systems and processes, identifying issues/challenges and solutions, and continuing to establish credibility.
• 90 Days - By this point, an employee should be fully functioning and contributing in their role. Goals are to finalize goals/metrics, deliver on initial objectives, and determine longer-term goals and areas for professional development.
• Beyond 90 Days - This extends the timeline for full integration and performance. Goals may involve executing larger projects, achieving key metrics, and cementing status as a highly contributing team member.

The structured timeline helps focus efforts during onboarding and transition periods. It helps align manager and employee expectations and establish clear goals.

The benefits and use cases of a 30-60-90 day plan

As mentioned, a 30-60-90 day plan can be helpful for many different purposes. To be specific, it makes your life easier in these ways:

30-60-90 day plan benefits

The 30-60-90 Day Plan is a useful way to show off your skills and dedication.

It's definitely a blueprint for your first days that can help you make a great impression. Some benefits of having a concrete 30-60-90 day plan to mention:

• Show off your preparedness to be a top candidate
• Connect the company's goals and objectives to your work
• Stay focused on your goals by laying them out in advance
• Smoothly transition to your new role by setting smart goals for learning and contributing
• Prove your potential for growth and leadership by achieving your goals
• Think of it like a GPS for your career - it'll help you stay on the right path and reach your destination. It's not just a plan; it's your roadmap to success.

30-60-90 day plan use cases

1. in a job interview.

Go into battle with a secret weapon. A comprehensive plan can showcase your understanding and preparedness for the position you're applying for.

If the hiring manager requests a 30-60-90 day plan, seize the opportunity to exhibit your strategic thinking skills .

And even if they don't, proactively present one to make a significant impression and set yourself apart from other candidates.

2. When onboarding new hires

Starting a new job can be tough, especially if it's remote. New employees can feel lost and unsure of what's expected of them.

A 30-60-90 Day Plan can be really helpful in setting clear goals for the first three months so that a new hire can get off to a strong start. It doesn't have to be fancy. An onboarding plan in a simple Word document still works well, if you can make sure it covers everything they need to know, what they need to do, and when for all of that to help your new team member gradually integrate into the team and get familiar with their new job.

Getting new hires up to speed quickly benefits everyone, so plan ahead! ‍

3. From an individual contributor to a team manager

As a new manager, transitioning from an individual contributor to a leadership role comes with increased responsibilities and expectations.

"The skills and methods required for success as an individual contributor and those required for success as a manager are starkly different—and that there is a gap between their current capabilities and the requirements of the new position." -  HBR

For those who start managing a team, a 30-60-90 day plan is essential because they’re converting their independent working process to a team-oriented approach.  There are many things for a manager to learn to maintain contribution and coordinate a team. It's really a big shift!

The plan will outline many not-as-usual works to build relationships with your team, streamline working process, meet your stakeholders, and whatever to establish your management role in the first important months.

5. When you get a new project

Project managers can't live without planning tools , or project management system. I agree! But before you start getting bogged down in all the details, it's more important to have a clear direction in mind. That's where a 30-60-90 day plan comes in handy.

The plan will sketch out what success looks like to you and help you prioritize your objectives and strategies when you're dealing with big projects. Then, you can stay organized, plan ahead, and lead your projects with clear goals and a solid monitoring process. Plus, the set milestones and timeline ensure that you don't take on too much at once, while still driving urgency and progress.

How to create a 30-60-90 day plan

As you get an idea of a 30-60-90 day plan, we will delve into the necessary components of a good plan. From there, you can structure your own plan and quickly adapt it for any purpose, either for work or personal use.

1. Goals and Objectives

Setting the right goals and objectives is the most important. As John Doerr shares in his  TED talk :

It almost does not matter how much you know; what matters most is how well you execute. It all comes down to excellent execution when it comes to setting the right goals.

The SMART framework is a critical one to apply for a 30-60-90 day plan, which questions you until your goals are truly smart.

• Is your goal specific enough?  Instead of setting a general goal like "increase sales," a specific goal would be "increase sales leads by 10% within the next 30 days."
• How do you measure progress?  Establish measurable criteria to track your progress. This involves identifying quantifiable indicators that will help you determine if you are meeting your goals. For instance, if your goal is to improve customer satisfaction, you can measure it by tracking the number of positive customer feedback or the increase in customer ratings.
• Is your goal realistic?  It's good to set the bar high. But it's even better if you can see yourself hit the finish line. Unattainable goals only lead to frustration and demotivation. Consider your available resources, capabilities, and constraints when setting your goals.
• Does your goal align with overall objectives and priorities?  They should contribute to the success of your plan and be relevant to your role and responsibilities. This helps you stay focused on what truly matters and avoid wasting time on irrelevant tasks.
• By when do you want to achieve this goal?  This creates a sense of urgency and helps you prioritize your tasks effectively. Can you recall how long open-ended statements like "I will host a bonding activity with my team." stay on your to-do list? Instead, "I will arrange weekly team lunch from next week to enhance connection." or "I will organize a get-to-know-each-other activity for my team in the next company meeting." increase the likelihood of your action.

Goals will be different from person to person, depending on your role and your job. However, there are several types of goals you should consider to put into your plan.

Performance goals  

These goals are centered around improving your performance in specific areas related to your role or job function. For example:

• Achieve sales targets by increasing revenue by 10% in the next quarter.
• Improve customer retention rates by implementing a customer loyalty program.
• Enhance employee productivity by reducing project turnaround time by 20%.

Learning goals

‍ These goals involve acquiring new skills or knowledge that will contribute to your professional growth. For example:

• Attend training sessions or workshops to enhance leadership skills.
• Complete industry certifications to expand your expertise.
• Master a new software tool to streamline workflow processes.

Innovative goals

‍ These goals focus on identifying and implementing innovative ideas or processes to improve efficiency, effectiveness, or customer experience. For example:

• Introduce new technologies to automate repetitive tasks and increase productivity.
• Streamline workflows by implementing project management software.
• Develop creative marketing strategies to reach a wider audience.

Personal goals

‍ These goals prioritize your personal development, well-being, and finding a cultural fit in the workplace. They can vary from enhancing communication skills, building relationships, practicing self-care and stress management, and more. For example:

• Join company yoga sessions to relax after work and connect with other like-minded colleagues.
• Enhance communication skills by attending public speaking workshops.
• Practicing stress management techniques like mindfulness meditation or regular exercise.

2. Action Items and Action Plan

Small yet mighty, action items are the superheroes of productivity. How can you transform big goals into concrete achievements? What do you plan to that pave the way for set objectives?

Keep breaking them down into actionable steps and create a list of specific actions that precisely outline what needs to be done – your detailed action plan . By diligently implementing this detailed list, you can streamline your efforts and focus solely on executing each task, ensuring efficient progress toward your desired outcomes.

AI tools, like our AI Action Plan Generator, can help you automatically generate action items in seconds:

3. Deliverables & Measures of Success 

In any winning 30-60-90 day plan, success is measured through deliverables and key performance indicators (KPIs). Deliverables are like fruits of your labor, proving your achievements and success. They entail:

• Deliverables:  Tangible outcomes include a comprehensive project report, a successful team collaboration initiative, or an innovative solution to a longstanding challenge.
• Measures of Success:  Establish quantifiable benchmarks or indicators to demonstrate your progress. These measures objectively evaluate your performance and help determine if you have achieved your targets or milestones. 

For example, if your goal is to improve customer satisfaction, a measure of success could be an increase in customer satisfaction ratings or scores. You can set specific targets for achieving a 10% improvement in customer satisfaction ratings within the first 30 days, 20% within 60 days, and 30% within 90 days. 

If your objective is to enhance productivity, a measure of success could be the percentage increase in productivity metrics, such as units produced per hour or tasks completed per day. 

4. Additional Elements

Additional elements can be incorporated into a 30-60-90 day plan to enhance its effectiveness. These elements act as supporting pillars, providing a pool of unblockers to finish your work.

• Resources:  Identify and secure the resources needed, whether budget allocation, specialized software, or additional team members, to achieve the desired goals.
• Stakeholders:  Engage and involve key stakeholders, such as team members, mentors, or senior leaders, to foster collaboration, gather feedback, and build a support network.

How to write a 30-60-90 day plan?

Briefly, here are steps for you to start crafting your 30-60-90 day plan: 

• Begin with your purpose. If you write it for a particular job, comprehensively understand the position and its expectations. 
• Next, define clear and specific goals for each timeframe, outlining what you aim to achieve within the first 30, 60, and 90 days. 
• Break them into actionable tasks and projects that will contribute to your goals. 
• Add ways to track progress and measure your success.
• Regularly review and revise your plan as needed, seeking feedback and alignment from relevant stakeholders. 

We gather a list of prompting questions to help guide you along the way. Going through each question thoughtfully, enhance your plan, and then craft a template to present it. 

>> Need more help? Talk to Lexi, share insights about your role and objectives, and let her suggest a personalized 30-60-90 day plan for you.

Free 30-60-90 day plan templates to present your.

The core of a 30-60-90 day plan lies in its essence –goals to be accomplished during your first three months. And how you present your plan tells your style, preferences, and purpose.

Think about how you want to communicate your ideas effectively, whether through a detailed document using the Word template, a visually engaging PowerPoint presentation, or a structured table in Excel. It's all about finding the format that best suits you and allows you to present your plan with clarity, confidence, and impact. 

These free 30-60-90 day plan templates may be just what you need.

1. Comprehensive Document - Word / Google Docs Template

The Word template is the most straightforward format for creating your 30-60-90 day plan. It provides a simple and flexible structure that allows you to delve into detailed explanations, narratives, and context for in-depth information.

It is highly recommended for personal use, as it allows you to customize and personalize your plan according to individual specific needs and aspirations. 

Download 30-60-90 Day Plan Template

2. Dynamic Presentation - PowerPoint / Google Slide Template

The PowerPoint template offers a slide-by-slide structure that allows you to present your plan in a visually appealing and organized manner. You can include goals and key points on each slide by month, along with supporting visuals or graphics, or even a Gantt chart to enhance understanding and engagement. 

This template is ideal for presenting your plan to stakeholders, managers, or colleagues.

3. Structured Table - Excel / Google Sheet Template

This Table template is designed to provide a concise and organized presentation of information in a structured format. It is handy for monitoring deadlines, tracking progress, and navigating your work with a straightforward layout and additional formula.

Download 30-60-90 Day Plan Teamplate

30-60-90 day plan for interview .

For those who are preparing a plan for your interview, some questions might still float in your head.  How can I know what is expected of me when I do not even work there yet? 

Let's review your job description and the standard requirements of your position. You can also ask for specific projects or initiatives the company has in the pipeline. 

Let's take an example, imagine you are in the final phase of a job interview for a marketing specialist position.

The interviewer inquires about your approach to promoting a new product, indicating that they seek a candidate who can develop innovative marketing campaigns, with a couple of new products in the pipeline.

To demonstrate your suitability for the role, you could prepare a 30-60-90 day plan that focuses on this particular responsibility.

30-Day Plan

Objective: 

During the first 30 days, I will familiarize myself with the company process and protocol, with products, and with our target market.

Key Actions:

• Schedule introductory meetings with key stakeholders and team members.
• Deep dive into product details through meetings with product managers and the development team.
• Conduct market research to understand the target audience and competitors.
• Review previous marketing campaigns to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for tracking marketing efforts.

After the first month, I will: 

• Successfully build relationships with project stakeholders and other team members
• Have a thorough understanding of the product, and present my market research findings
• Propose at least three ideas to improve previous campaigns, and establish new KPI tracking.

60-Day Plan

During the next 30 days, I will develop and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy for the new product.

• Conduct a detailed analysis of the target market, competitors, and internal capabilities.
• Create a master marketing strategy and identify targeted campaigns across various channels.
• Find potential partnership opportunities for co-marketing.
• Identify key stakeholders and/or team members that should collaborate on the project. 
• Enhance brand visibility through PR initiatives and participation in industry events.

After the second month, I will develop a marketing strategy for a new product and collaborate with other team members to successfully execute it. 

90-Day Plan

During the next 30 days, I will optimize marketing efforts, expand market reach, and improve customer acquisition and retention.

• Track marketing ROI and provide actionable insights.
• Stay informed about industry trends and competitor activities.
• Identify and target new customer segments or markets.
• Work with sales and customer success team to finalize acquisition and retention initiatives.
• Propose new initiatives based on lessons learned and updating trends.

After the third month, I will present the results of active campaigns and my timely adjustments to improve their performance by 20%. I will be able to plan and propose a quarter plan based on my probation experience and research, including a smooth cross-functional collaboration.

30-60-90 Day Onboarding Plan For New Employees

When bringing new people to the team, having a solid plan saves much of your time.

The plan for the first three months at work with guidelines, goals, and resources results in two things. First, new hires have appropriate time to digest information and new responsibilities. Second, they have clear directions on what and how to perform, and where they can go for FAQs or support.

This plan should be tailored to the specific job they're taking on.

In the first month , the main goal is to get them up to speed on the company and their role. That means completing onboarding sessions, reading up on essential docs, and meeting everyone they'll work with.

The following 30 days should shift towards actively contributing to projects and taking ownership of tasks. Collaborating with team members, seeking additional responsibilities, and participating in cross-functional initiatives will help develop a deeper understanding of the organization's processes and systems.

And by the end of the first 90 days , they should be able to handle projects independently and be a real asset to the team. It's key to customize the plan and offer training or mentorship opportunities too. That way, new hires can get settled in and succeed in their new gig!

30-60-90 Day Plan For New Manager

During the first 30 days of your manager position, step back to learn about your team and practice observing everything through an overall lens.

Schedule meetings with your team to learn more about their work and backgrounds. Establish effective communication channels and review existing team processes. To expand your knowledge and skills, consider enrolling in managerial courses and identify your way of management. 

Moving into the 60-day plan, the focus shifts towards leading and empowering the team, driving projects to completion, and encouraging collaboration. In this phase, you should be able to delegate tasks, create a team culture and improve alignment on every project. 

By the 90-day mark, the new manager should aim to drive continuous improvement, develop team members' skills, and contribute to strategic goals. Listening to the team and regularly asking for feedback will help you to assess your success when transforming into a higher role. 

30-60-90 day plan for Executives

Executives are expected to have a broad and forward-thinking perspective regarding planning. Instead of focusing too much on day-to-day operations, they should prioritize the company's vision and mission, and develop strategies that will lead to long-term success and prosperity.

Here are a few things you shouldn't miss in your first three months:

• Quick wins.  Identify low-hanging fruit and immediate opportunities for improvement that can be implemented within the first 30 days. These early wins will help establish credibility and build momentum. However, don't make a sweeping change. You might not want to disrupt the current systems and hurt the relationship that you're trying to establish.
• Be a friendly observer.  Try to understand the organization's structure, culture, and existing processes as much as possible in the first month. By approaching with a sense of curiosity and attentiveness, executives can gather essential information and lay the groundwork for informed decision-making and effective leadership in the future.
• Plan a great first impression.  It sets the tone for how people perceive your leadership abilities and builds trust. You might need a well-prepared speech to show your genuine interest in understanding the organization and its people, and how you will become their reliable leader onwards. As they said, good things come to those who plan.
• Strengthen the talent pool.  Identify high-potential employees and invest in them. Great leaders create more leaders. A solid management team by your side will help you lead more effectively and enhance company culture. Creating a development plan to cultivate the growth of exceptional performers and provide support for those who have room for improvement.

Wrapping it up

To sum it up, making a great 30-60-90 day plan is all about connecting your personal goals with what the company wants to achieve.

By carefully breaking down the important tasks and goals, you can smoothly move into your new role and have a successful journey. It's important to stay flexible, adaptable, and proactive throughout the process, so you can make changes and improve as you go.

A well-crafted 30-60-90 day plan not only shows your commitment and drive, but also sets the stage for long-term success and growth within the company.

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Creating a 30-60-90 Day Plan to Secure the Job

To perform exceptionally well in the interview process, job seekers have to do both the expected and unexpected. One way to do the unexpected in the final stages of the interview process, especially for a job seeker at the manager level and above, is to craft a 30-60-90 Day Plan. The first 90 days on a new job often determines whether or not the employee gets the opportunity to remain with the organization. If you have taken the time to create a 30-60-90 Day Plan, when hired, you hit the ground running because you are prepared to do the job.

So what’s a 30-60-90 Day Plan?  A 30-60-90 Day Plan is a written outline of your strategy, and the plans you have for the first three months on the job. It’s one of the most powerful tools you can bring to the final stages of the employment interview process. It can be a PowerPoint presentation or paper-based. During an employment interview, a hiring manager is looking for responses to the following basic questions:

• Do you understand what the job entails?
• Can you perform the job?
• Will you perform the job?

When you prepare an effective 30-60-90 Day Plan for your employment interview, you answer all of the questions above. It demonstrates to the hiring manager that you are driven, have a strong work ethic, are committed to success on the job; and you also demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities to effectively perform in the role. Your plan also reassures the hiring manager that you are a safe hire.

Tips for Creating an Effective 30-60-90 Day Plan

• The Plan has to be customized and targeted to a specific employer – a generic plan defeats the purpose of the exercise.
• Conduct thorough research to identify the top three strategic initiatives of the organization. Look for clues to alert you as to what issues are keeping managers up at night. Places to conduct your research for your 30-60-90 Day Plan include: The corporate website, Google, Twitter, the company’s page on LinkedIn, and the profiles of people who work for the organization, LinkedIn groups where they hangout, and industry groups.
• Introduction : An overview of what you would like to accomplish the first three months on the job.
• 30-Day Plan/First 30 days on the job : During the first 30 days on the job, time is spent attending training, meeting team members, learning the organization’s systems and its products and services, reviewing procedures and client accounts.
• 60-Day Plan/First 60 days on the job : Studying best practices in the industry, setting goals for the next 30 days, meeting with supervisor to gather feedback, building relationships with your colleagues, identifying potential mentors, reviewing the efficiency of company processes and procedures, visiting other department, and continuing to attend training.
• 90-Day Plan/First 90 days on the job : Obtaining feedback on new processes and procedures, implementing new strategies and procedures, and addressing the three strategic initiatives.
• It will take a while to create your 30-60-90 Day Plan so don’t start preparing it the night before your interview. Make your plan as visually attractive as possible and use it to close in your interview.

Your plan is a conversation tool, so when the hiring manager asks the first question that your plan addresses, that’s the perfect opportunity to discuss your 30-60-90 Day Plan with the hiring manager. By going through the process of creating a 30-60-90 Day Plan, you unearth detailed information about the company, which enables you to appear knowledgeable and confident in the interview.