What Is One Thing That Should Be Included In A 90-Day Plan For A New Manager?
To help you know what to include in a new manager’s 90-day plan, we asked CEOs and people managers this question for their best advice.
From creating a roadmap and having a coach to assessing the cost-effectiveness of the team budget, there are several things that you may factor into a new manager’s 90-day plan to make the transition smooth.
Here Are Eight Things To Include In A New Manager’s 90-Day Plan:
- Create a Roadmap and Have a Coach
- Include Regular Feedback From Supervisor and Team
- Start Delegating Duties Right Away
- Reboard To Learn and Revise
- Do Wellness Checks To Show You Care
- Include Team-building Sessions
- Plan Employee-Retention Strategies
- Assess Cost Effectiveness of The Team Budget
Create a Roadmap and Have a Coach
Transitioning from an individual contributor role to a management role is a career change. It requires a different set of skills to be successful. Pairing a roadmap that contains clear goals each month with a coach is a winning formula.
The roadmap ensures that the manager understands what is expected of them and provides a way to track progress. The coach provides guidance and a safe space for them to discuss their challenges and experience that is free of judgment.
Leang Chung, Pelora Stack
Include Regular Feedback From Supervisor and Team
Any successful onboarding should occur over the span of 90 days, with regular check-ins for a new manager on their 30, 60, and 90 day anniversary. In this case, the manager should receive feedback from their supervisor not only on how they are achieving business results but also on their success in managing their direct reports.
Too often people are hired or promoted to manager because of their technical skills, but people management is a skill set in and of itself. The new manager should also be encouraged to have regular check-ins with their direct reports so those individuals can give feedback to their new manager, and can identify strengths and areas of improvement they need to focus on as they integrate into the organization.
At the conclusion of a manager’s first 90 days, they should have a clear idea of how they are performing both in results delivery and people management, and have set SMART goals on how they will continue to deliver satisfactorily in those areas.
Eric Mochnacz, Red Clover
Start Delegating Duties Right Away
When a new manager arrives, there are often fears from team members that they will be micromanaged, therefore, to alleviate this concern, managers should begin the process of delegating work as a part of their 90-day plan. Nothing demoralizes a team more than suddenly having management look over their shoulders every minute of the day, and many studies have shown that micromanagement has a detrimental effect on productivity.
A manager who quickly delegates duties, allows employee freedom, and relinquishes control of his team members’ responsibilities, will engender trust, and establish confidence in the manager’s abilities.
In addition, by refraining from micromanaging, more time will be available for a new manager to attend to more appropriate responsibilities. By staying away from this habit, a recently hired manager can quickly reinforce a positive work environment.
Matt Miller, Embroker
Reboard To Learn and Revise
Wait, you signed up for onboarding, what’s reboarding? Reboarding is the process of re-constituting your role, processes, and teams within the broader organizational context. While onboarding tends to be a one-off event, reboarding can occur continuously.
And for organizations where priorities, teams, or structures are shifting, one-off training will rapidly be outdated. Additionally, behavior scientists note that in many contexts one-off (or non-continuous) training doesn’t lead to lasting behavior change. Thinking in terms of iterative, cyclical training and how this fits into a manager’s role should definitely be established within the initial 90-day plan for a new manager.
Merrill Cook, Arist
Do Wellness Checks To Show You Care
Wellness checks are essential for supporting and empowering a new manager. I suggest hosting them weekly as a moment to review recent lessons on the job. This type of dialogue can also serve as a great opportunity to answer questions they might not want to ask in front of their subordinates, other workers, or customers. A wellness check is a wonderful chance to demonstrate commitment and ensure that the training process is working as desired.
New Melchizedec S, Expertrec
Include Team-building Sessions
Team building. During the first 90 days, a new manager should be focused on getting to know their team. Learning the team members’ strengths, how they like to work, a bit about their personal life and what their professional goals are.
This is a major step in building a new manager’s sense of place, connection, and company commitment to ensure there is a smooth future for the team and the company.
Karim Hachem, Sunshine79
Plan Employee-Retention Strategies
One thing any new manager should have in their 90 day plan is an Employee Retention strategy. This is truer than ever today when the hot labor market is making it easier than ever for employees to leave for greener pastures. And let’s face it: none of the other strategies you want to implement in your 90-day plan are going to work if the people around you keep leaving.
So work on that retention plan. This should include Employee Development; periodic performance evaluations, with positive incentives for good evaluations; regular check-ins to see how all staff are doing; and morale-boosting perks such as lunches, yoga classes, or early Fridays. One of the most important things you can do as a manager is to make sure that your team stays your team.
David Culpepper, LifeMD
Assess Cost Effectiveness for Team Budget
New managers should assess how they can improve cost-effectiveness for their team budget in the first 90 days of being at an organization. Teams can be evaluated on budget allocation and spending habits within a three-month time span. Managers should map out their plan for adjustments to budget spending after being able to make substantial observations during their onboarding and initial entry period.
This is an effective facet of a 90-day plan that can make a significant impact solely through the new manager’s own initiative.
Executive leadership will appreciate the boost in efficiency and team members will benefit from a more effective budgeting plan. Managers should plan to improve cost-effectiveness for their team budget in the first 90 days.
Katy Carrigan, Goody
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