• Since its inception, Business Turnaround and Recovery has saved 145 495 jobs and created more than 616 new positions.
• As a division of Productivity SA, we are funded by the Department of Labour UIF. We act as the ‘search and rescue’ and ‘crisis management’ agency for any South African company in need of assistance.
• Our mandate is directed by the Declaration of the Presidential Jobs Summit (October1998) ‒to provide proactive solutions that aim to retain jobs through sustainment of companies, actively manage retrenchments, prevent a rise in unemployment, and enhance economic growth.
• Our services are available to all companies across South Africa from our bases in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. To reach as many organisations as possible, we work with a vast network of independent consultants all over the country.

Funded by The Department of Labour UIF, the Business Turnaround and Recovery Programme identifies jobs that can be saved, and implements appropriate ‘rescue’ processes. Generally, the programme applies to companies with a minimum o2 20 employees facing large-scale job losses.

The Business Turnaround and Recovery Programme is proven and provides highly effective, specialised and technical assistance to struggling companies, through:

• Assessment of problem areas, crisis management and development of strategies to turn the company around.
• Enhancement of company performance through improvement marketing, operations, HR and financial strategies.
• Education of all employees on basic business principles and operations ‒ to understand how their actions impact the entire operational process.
• Capacity building and staff training to improve and sustain productivity ‒ even after the intervention.

The Business Turnaround and Recovery Process

1. Preliminary Assessment
Prior to any planning or implementation, the turnaround viability of the company is assessed. This identifies immediate issues that require urgent intervention and thorough crisis management procedures.

2. Crisis Management
If the company is already in crisis ‒ due to liquidation, labour action, termination of crucial contracts or possible closure by regulatory bodies ‒ immediate action is taken to avert closure of the business or possible job losses, until the Business Turnaround and Recovery process can take effect.

3. Establishment of Future Forums
A Future Forum is a committee comprised of management, employees and union representatives. It creates a structured, collaborative environment that allows for open discussion between all parties.

Together, stakeholders identify problem areas and devise strategies to save jobs, and the company. Throughout this procedure, Productivity SA consultants provide technical assistance with marketing, financial and operational management. When the organisation is stabilised and vulnerable jobs secured, the Future Forum introduces early warning systems to recognise emerging problems, formulate appropriate responses and develop turnaround or deployment strategies, if necessary.

4. Capacity Building
Building capacity ensures all members of the Future Forum are empowered to contribute meaningfully, with a clear understanding of business operations and what will make the company sustainable and profitable. ‘Productivity Champions’ are identified and trained to lead by example.

5. In-Depth Assessment
During this phase, the organisation and its appointed consultants evaluate the root causes of the company’s problems, and formulate appropriate turnaround or redeployment strategies.

6. Strategy Implementation
Once roles are assigned, agreed strategies are implemented.

7. Productivity Sustainability: Keeping on Track
To ensure improvements are monitored and maintained, in-house ‘Productivity Champions’ are appointed. Their purpose is to drive productivity and quality aspects of production/service delivery. Productivity Champions are meticulously trained and equipped with comprehensive manuals that contain valuable productivity tools and techniques. In addition, they continually monitor and measure relevant activities to report results to the company’s management and Productivity SA.