PeopleMuster

30-60-90 day onboarding plan template

A 30-60-90 day plan splits a new hire's first three months into learn, contribute and own. Each phase gets two to four goals you can check, and each ends with a short meeting to agree what's done. The template below is written for a manager and a new starter to fill in together in week one.

Use it for any new hire, internal move or promotion into a new role, starting on day one. A candidate can also use the same layout to present a plan in a final interview. Keep the equipment, accounts and paperwork on your onboarding checklist; this plan covers the work itself.

30-60-90 DAY PLAN

Name: [NEW HIRE NAME]
Role: [JOB TITLE]    Team: [DEPARTMENT]
Manager: [MANAGER NAME]    Buddy: [BUDDY NAME]
Start date: [START DATE]

What success looks like at day 90:
[ONE-SENTENCE DAY-90 OUTCOME]


DAYS 1 TO 30: LEARN
Focus: understand the team, the tools and how work gets done.

Goal | How we'll know it's done | Owner | Status
Meet every person you'll work with weekly | 1:1s held with [NAMES OR ROLES] | [NEW HIRE NAME] | Not started
Learn the tools and where work is tracked | Logged into [TOOLS] and completed one task in each | [NEW HIRE NAME] | Not started
Shadow the core process of the role | Sat in on [PROCESS] at least twice | [BUDDY NAME] | Not started
[ROLE-SPECIFIC LEARNING GOAL] | [MEASURE] | [OWNER] | Not started

Day-30 check-in: [DAY 30 DATE] with [MANAGER NAME]


DAYS 31 TO 60: CONTRIBUTE
Focus: deliver real work with support.

Goal | How we'll know it's done | Owner | Status
Deliver a first piece of work end to end | [FIRST DELIVERABLE] shipped and reviewed | [NEW HIRE NAME] | Not started
Take over a recurring task | Running [RECURRING TASK] without help | [NEW HIRE NAME] | Not started
Suggest one improvement | Written up and shared with [MANAGER NAME] | [NEW HIRE NAME] | Not started
[ROLE-SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTION GOAL] | [MEASURE] | [OWNER] | Not started

Day-60 check-in: [DAY 60 DATE] with [MANAGER NAME]


DAYS 61 TO 90: OWN
Focus: work independently and set the next goals.

Goal | How we'll know it's done | Owner | Status
Own an area of work | Named owner of [AREA OF OWNERSHIP] | [NEW HIRE NAME] | Not started
Hit the first target | [TARGET] reached by [DAY 90 DATE] | [NEW HIRE NAME] | Not started
Draft goals for the next quarter | Agreed with [MANAGER NAME] | [NEW HIRE NAME] | Not started
[ROLE-SPECIFIC OWNERSHIP GOAL] | [MEASURE] | [OWNER] | Not started

Day-90 review: [DAY 90 DATE] with [MANAGER NAME]


CHECK-IN NOTES
Check-in | Went well | Needs support | Agreed next step | Signed off by
Day 30 | [NOTES] | [NOTES] | [NEXT STEP] | [MANAGER NAME]
Day 60 | [NOTES] | [NOTES] | [NEXT STEP] | [MANAGER NAME]
Day 90 | [NOTES] | [NOTES] | [NEXT STEP] | [MANAGER NAME]

What to put in each blank

[ONE-SENTENCE DAY-90 OUTCOME]
Write the one thing the new hire should be doing alone by day 90, such as running the weekly client report. Every goal above should lead to it.
[FIRST DELIVERABLE]
Pick a real piece of work that's small enough to finish in two weeks. A first win matters more than a big one.
[MEASURE]
Describe what you could point at to prove the goal is done. 'Understands the product' can't be checked; 'demoed it to the buddy' can.
[BUDDY NAME]
Name a peer, not the manager. New hires ask a buddy the small questions they'd never take to their manager.
[TARGET]
Use a target the role is already measured on, such as tickets closed or hours delivered, so day 90 connects to normal reviews.

Before you send it

  • Fill the plan in together during the first week. A plan the manager writes alone reads as a test, and one the new hire helps write reads as a commitment.
  • Keep each phase to four goals at most. A new starter with ten goals for month one finishes none of them properly.
  • Book all three check-ins on day one. Meetings that aren't in the calendar get skipped once the new hire looks settled.
  • Change the plan when the work changes. A goal that no longer makes sense by day 45 should be swapped, with the reason noted in the check-in table.

PeopleMuster runs onboarding as a reusable SOP template, started against each new person and tracked step by step

Questions people ask about this letter

What is a 30-60-90 day plan?

A 30-60-90 day plan sets goals for a new hire's first three months in three phases: learn in the first 30 days, contribute by day 60 and own an area of work by day 90. Each phase ends with a check-in meeting.

Who writes the 30-60-90 day plan, the manager or the new hire?

Both, in the first week. The manager sets the day-90 outcome and the new hire drafts the goals that get there. For an interview, the candidate writes it alone to show how they'd approach the role.

How many goals should each phase have?

Two to four goals per phase works for most roles. Fewer leaves the month vague, and more spreads a new starter too thin to finish anything.

How is a 30-60-90 day plan different from an onboarding checklist?

The checklist covers setup tasks such as a laptop, accounts and paperwork, mostly in week one. The 30-60-90 plan covers the work itself over three months. Most teams run both side by side.

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