Is a 30-60-90-day plan the same as a performance improvement plan (PIP)?

A 30-60-90-day plan for employee development isn’t the same as a PIP. Although PIPs often last for 30, 60 or 90 days, employers use them to address performance issues. For example, if you expect every customer service agent to respond to a minimum number of calls per hour, you might create a PIP for agents who don’t reach that minimum.

What’s the difference between a 30-60-90-day plan and an onboarding checklist?

A 30-60-90-day plan differs from an onboarding checklist because it’s tailored to an employee’s role and professional goals. Additionally, creating 30-60-90-day plans is typically a collaborative process. Onboarding is generally a standardized process that helps integrate new employees into the organization. It might include an orientation session, a building tour and a chance to meet other team members.

Do you need to adapt a 30-60-90-day plan for remote employees?

Remote employees typically have fewer opportunities to interact with other team members, so it can be helpful to adapt their 30-60-90-day plans accordingly. For example, instead of asking remote employees to attend in-person events, you might encourage them to converse with colleagues on Slack or schedule one-on-one meetings with a company leader.

Employee 30-60-90 Day Plan Template

What is a 30-60-90-day plan for new employees?

A 30-60-90-day plan lists an employee’s goals for the next 90 days. The 90 days are organized into three phases, each lasting 30 days and having a specific focus.

Employers often use this development plan to help new hires acclimate to their roles. However, you can use a 30-60-90-day plan when an employee starts a new project or transitions to a new position.

Benefits of a 30-60-90-day plan

Employee onboarding plans may offer the following benefits:

Increased clarity: Use 30-60-90-day plans to clarify an employee’s role. They can also help outline your expectations in detail, ensuring the team member understands what they need to achieve during the next 90 days.

Enhanced collaboration: Create these plans to allow employees to collaborate and learn about their goals.

Improved relationships: Offer development opportunities to show team members you value their growth, potentially encouraging their commitment to your company’s goals and values.

Increased confidence: Include actionable steps to guide employees through each phase. When team members have a plan to follow, they may feel more confident in their abilities.

Improved time management: Develop formal plans to help employees better balance their time and individual tasks.

How to use a 30-60-90-day plan in your workplace

You might introduce your 30-60-90-day plans at several stages in the recruiting process or during later periods of employment. You might use them in the following ways:

During interviews: You may ask job candidates to prepare a 30-60-90-day plan. This can be common for sales, managerial, executive or project-based roles, such as marketing, product development or consulting. Observing how candidates spend their first 90 days of employment can also help evaluate their initiative, organizational skills and understanding of the role.
As part of the onboarding process: Many employers consider the first 30 days of employment a learning phase. New hires generally focus on learning company processes and gaining job-specific knowledge. Incorporating new hire performance goals into the onboarding process can help set expectations early on and allow you to check in monthly for their input. You might ask new hires to perform a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis for your organization. For example, new hires may use this analysis to suggest they need more resources to meet these predetermined company goals.
Before employee transitions: Employees dedicated to career development might take on additional responsibilities or aim for promotions. Using 30-60-90-day plans can help existing employees adjust to new roles. While these employees are familiar with your company’s culture and goals, 30-60-90-day plans can help them adapt to their new responsibilities.

What to include in a 30-60-90-day plan

Each 30-day phase has a different focus with its own priorities, goals and key performance metrics (KPIs). This structured approach can make it easier to monitor an employee’s progress. Here’s how the three phases typically work:

Phase 1 (Learning): During this phase, employees learn about your company’s culture and the expectations for their role by reviewing company policies and basic procedures. They may also meet the employees likely to have the biggest impact on their success. For example, a graphic designer might meet with your marketing director, marketing specialist, copywriter and user experience (UX) designer.
Phase 2 (Contributing): The second phase of a 30-60-90-day plan allows employees to contribute to your company’s mission. For instance, employees in marketing roles might suggest a tagline for a new product or write a blog post for your website. This phase typically involves an increasing workload.
Phase 3 (Executing): The final 30 days of your company’s plan likely focus on using the knowledge and experience gained in the first 60 days to meet performance expectations. Employees in managerial or executive roles might prioritize leading teams, improving processes and advancing the company’s goals. Entry-level employees may aim to work independently or reduce the assistance needed from colleagues.

Setting goals

Consider setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) goals to help employees succeed. This framework emphasizes the importance of clear and realistic goals.

Choosing metrics

Lastly, each phase generally benefits from set metrics to help determine whether an employee’s progress meets expectations. The more specific a metric is, the easier it is to evaluate team members. For example, for an assembler position, employees might set a goal to construct a set number of panels.

Involving other team members in the performance goals planning process

Involving key team members in the 30-60-90-day planning process can generally support a smooth transition. You might include the employee’s hiring manager and other department members. For managerial employees, consider including direct reports. These team members can help gather valuable insights about the role and its impact on operations.

Tips for working with new employees to create a 30-60-90-day plan

Customize the plan: Tailoring each plan to the employee’s job duties and career goals helps ensure all priorities, goals and metrics are relevant to the position. Consider using the employee’s job description to create a customized plan.

Update the plan as needed: You may need to adjust an employee’s 30-60-90-day plan when you introduce new procedures or company objectives. For example, if your company implements a new applicant tracking system (ATS), your human resources (HR) coordinator’s plan might adjust to include creating custom reports, such as those tracking recruiter activity or time to hire.

Provide resources: It’s generally easier for employees to meet their goals with the right resources. For instance, if you want a new hire to learn to use your accounting system, you might provide a system login and user manual. If necessary, connect employees with external resources to demonstrate you support their success. For example, you might offer employees courses through Intuit to refine their QuickBooks skills.

Encouraging employees to adapt

You might want to create a culture of continuous learning to encourage team members to improve their adaptability and gain new skills. This may involve building new skills, gaining new knowledge, seeking feedback and reflecting on lessons learned.

Although classes and formal training sessions can be helpful, you might introduce other learning opportunities during each 30-day phase. During the learning phase, you might require employees to meet weekly with mentors or suggest books related to your industry. For example, a risk manager may benefit from reading Jim Collins’ How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In.

Template of a 30-60-90-day plan

Name:

Position:

Company:

30 days (Start date to end date)

FOCUS: Learning

Priorities: Summary of priorities

Goal #1

Goal focus: Learning-oriented, performance-oriented or personal