Publication 11, Issue 3
Use the 30-60-90 Plan
Let’s face it, finding the “right person” for a position is hard work! Managers spend countless hours doing everything from fighting to get the funding to fill a vacant position to conducting interviews – all while doing their “real” job. And when they make the offer and the candidate accepts, they can’t wait for that “right person” to start working!
Picture this – manager gets to work early on the day his/her new employee starts because the “right person” is starting that day, there is a ton of work that is backlogged and needs to get done, because it took the manager so long to find the “right person.” Only for the manager to give him/her the keys to the office, maybe introduce him/her to a few “key” staff and then say “Have at it!”
Protect the asset you just searched for and spent the time orienting to the company culture, people and customers. Try these ideas on your new employee’s first day:
A. Engage new employees right away – it’s all about inclusion…introduce them to staff both inside and outside of the department – the folks they will be working with and for, so to speak. Tell them about the types of projects or tasks they will be expected to work on right away. Have them shadow a “live” meeting, and ask for their feedback and observations after the meeting is over – set the tone of your working relationship up front.
B. Set the job expectations using the 30-60-90 Day Plan – this requires some thought and upfront work on the part of the manager. But here’s the payoff, managers aren’t back out recruiting for this position in another 30 days! Set up time with the new employee on the afternoon of his/her first day to review a cumulative list of tasks or duties that describes “what” they need to know after the first 30, 60 and 90 days and “how” he/she needs to accomplish/learn the tasks. So after 90 days he/she has experienced just about everything they need to in order to become efficient, productive and happy.
C. Check in frequently – don’t wait until the 80th day to see if the employee is meeting your expectations or doing a good job – it’s too late by then. Managers should check in daily for the first two weeks and depending upon the progress – they should check in at least twice a week until it gets closer to the 90 day mark. This gives the manager a chance to reinforce expectations, explain the work, reassign a task/project and get feedback from the new employee. It also makes the employee feel/think that he/she can tap into the manager when he/she needs to.
It is a win-win strategy, the manager gets a chance to outline his/her vision and duties and the new employee knows exactly “what” has to be done and how to do it!
