“What’s the best way to get consistently high levels of productivity out of my staff?”
If there’s any single question that I’ve been asked more than any other, that one is the hands-down winner. No matter what kind of business they’re in, managers struggle to find a straightforward, repeatable approach to driving exceptional performance. They struggle to find a common language through which they can communicate expectations and obtain employee buy-in. The result of this communication breakdown is a lack of shared understanding, which eventually leads to frustration on the part of both manager and staff member. Sound familiar?
One of the best ways to tackle this issue head-on is with the 30-60-90 Day Plan Approach. A 30-60-90 Day Plan is a tool that managers can use to set performance expectations with members of their team, and lays out the outcomes that your employee must produce within 30, 60, and 90 days in order for you to consider their performance a success. When done correctly, this simple, straightforward approach results in shared expectations and consistent performance. (for a great template that will save you a ton of time, I highly recommend this MS Word-based 30-60-90 Day Plan Template from www.306090dayplan.com)
The first step in creating a 30-60-90 Day Plan is for you, the manager, to define the specific, measurable outcomes that must be reached by your employee. These outcomes should be easily understandable, and as objective and metrics-based as possible. For example, a weakly-written outcome for an Account Executive would be something like, “Win new customer accounts in the first 90 days.” A stronger approach to writing this outcome would be, “Close 5 new customer accounts within the next 90 days.” The difference is specificity - win 5 new accounts. Either that happens, or it doesn’t. There’s no gray area.
What are some other examples of specific outcomes? For a controller, an outcome might be, “Reduce all Accounts Receivable to 50 days’ aging or less by 60 days from now.” For a recruiter, an example might be, “Conduct 5 in-person interviews each week, beginning at 30 days from now.” An outcome for a web developer may be, “Complete XYZ application, including QA testing and bug fixes, so that the application is in production within 30 days.”
When you’ve listed all outcomes for the next 30, 60, and 90 days, it’s time to share them with your employee. Call a meeting, and share with them that you’d like to make sure that you as the manager are communicating expectations effectively. Explain that you’ve written down some specific outcomes that you need to see over the next 30, 60, and 90 days, and that you want to get their feedback before moving forward. Walk them through your expectations, and solicit their input. It’s okay if they want to modify dates or results, because the process of negotiation engenders employee buy-in. Once you’ve finalized the results, make sure to update the plan and provide your employee with the final copy.
The 30-60-90 Day Plan Approach works because it creates a common reference point for you and your staff. It outlines specific, measurable actions that must be completed by defined periods of time, and asks the employee to commit to the result. A huge benefit for you, the manager, is that it takes the emotion out of performance management - either the employee meets plan, or they don’t. No more hand-wringing and misunderstood expectations.
Give this approach a shot, and unlock your team’s true potential!
Download a template to get you started by clicking here.
