Training course

Overview

Turnaround Management for Underperforming Units is a professional management and leadership training course designed to equip executives, managers, department heads, business unit leaders, operations managers, and performance improvement professionals with the knowledge and practical skills required to diagnose underperformance and lead sustainable organizational recovery. The course focuses on performance diagnosis, root cause analysis, operational efficiency, financial performance, leadership intervention, workforce productivity, cost management, stakeholder engagement, risk management, and turnaround planning.

The primary purpose of turnaround management is to stabilize an underperforming business unit, department, branch, project, or operational function, identify the underlying causes of poor performance, restore operational and financial results, and establish sustainable systems for continued improvement. The course introduces practical turnaround frameworks and management tools for assessing performance gaps, identifying critical problems, prioritizing interventions, setting recovery targets, allocating resources, strengthening accountability, and monitoring implementation.

In today's competitive business environment, organizations may experience underperformance because of declining revenues, excessive costs, inefficient processes, weak leadership, poor customer service, employee disengagement, ineffective controls, changing market conditions, technology disruption, resource constraints, or strategic misalignment. Leaders responsible for turnaround situations must act decisively while maintaining employee confidence, protecting critical operations, managing stakeholders, controlling risks, and making evidence-based decisions under significant time and resource pressures.

Turnaround Management for Underperforming Units is therefore essential for executives, directors, managers, business unit leaders, operations professionals, consultants, entrepreneurs, and emerging leaders responsible for improving struggling teams, departments, branches, projects, or business units. The course combines diagnostic frameworks, financial and operational analysis, performance management tools, stakeholder-management techniques, change-management practices, leadership interventions, case studies, simulations, practical exercises, and real-world turnaround scenarios to help participants move underperforming units from immediate stabilization to sustainable performance.

Course Duration

5 Days (40 Hours)

Target Participants

This course is suitable for:

• Chief Executive Officers (CEOs)
• Chief Operating Officers (COOs)
• Chief Financial Officers (CFOs)
• Directors and Senior Executives
• Business Unit Managers
• Department Heads
• Operations Managers
• Finance Managers
• Sales and Commercial Managers
• Human Resource Managers
• Project and Program Managers
• Performance Improvement Professionals
• Risk Managers
• Management Consultants
• Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
• Branch and Regional Managers
• Public Sector and NGO Managers
• Emerging and Aspiring Leaders
• Professionals Responsible for Improving Underperforming Units

Course Objectives

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Understand the principles, stages, and objectives of turnaround management.
• Diagnose the root causes of organizational and business unit underperformance.
• Conduct financial, operational, strategic, and people-performance assessments.
• Identify critical performance gaps and turnaround priorities.
• Apply root cause analysis and structured problem-solving techniques.
• Develop practical turnaround strategies and recovery plans.
• Establish short-term stabilization priorities and long-term improvement objectives.
• Improve operational efficiency, productivity, and resource utilization.
• Strengthen financial performance, cost control, and resource management.
• Establish appropriate performance targets, KPIs, and accountability mechanisms.
• Engage employees and stakeholders throughout turnaround initiatives.
• Manage resistance to turnaround programs and organizational restructuring.
• Make effective decisions under time, resource, and performance pressures.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate operational and strategic risks.
• Improve customer service, quality, process performance, and service delivery.
• Monitor turnaround progress through dashboards, reports, and performance reviews.
• Apply change-management and leadership principles during organizational recovery.
• Sustain performance improvements after the immediate turnaround period.
• Develop a comprehensive turnaround management plan for an underperforming unit.

Course Content

Day 1: Diagnosing Underperformance and Stabilizing the Unit

Module 1: Turnaround Assessment and Performance Diagnosis

Topics

1.      Overview of Turnaround Management for Underperforming Units

2.      Characteristics and Warning Signs of Organizational Underperformance

3.      Financial, Operational, Strategic, and People-Related Causes of Underperformance

4.      Performance Gap Analysis and Organizational Health Assessment

5.      Root Cause Analysis and Structured Problem-Solving

6.      SWOT, PESTLE, and Business Environment Analysis

7.      Financial and Operational Performance Indicators

8.      Stakeholder Mapping and Critical Relationship Analysis

9.      Immediate Stabilization Priorities, Quick Wins, and Critical Actions

10.  Case Study: Diagnosing and Stabilizing a Severely Underperforming Business Unit

Day 2: Turnaround Strategy, Operations, and Financial Recovery

Module 2: Designing the Business Recovery Strategy

Topics

1.      Developing a Turnaround Vision and Recovery Objectives

2.      Prioritizing Critical Business and Operational Issues

3.      Turnaround Strategy Development and Implementation Roadmaps

4.      Cost Reduction, Cost Control, and Resource Optimization

5.      Process Improvement and Operational Efficiency

6.      Revenue Recovery and Customer Retention Strategies

7.      Productivity Improvement and Workforce Utilization

8.      Budget Management, Cash Flow, and Financial Recovery Planning

9.      SMART Turnaround Targets, KPIs, and Performance Measures

10.  Practical Exercise: Developing a 90-Day Turnaround Recovery Plan

Day 3: Leadership, People, Accountability, and Change

Module 3: Leading People Through Turnaround

Topics

1.      Leadership in High-Pressure Turnaround Situations

2.      Establishing Accountability and Performance Ownership

3.      Communicating the Business Case for Turnaround and Change

4.      Employee Engagement During Organizational Recovery

5.      Managing Resistance, Uncertainty, and Difficult Employee Reactions

6.      Restructuring Roles, Responsibilities, and Workflows

7.      Coaching Underperforming Employees and Managers

8.      Managing Critical Talent and High-Potential Employees During Turnaround

9.      Building a Performance-Oriented Culture

10.  Simulation Exercise: Leading Employees Through a Difficult Turnaround Decision

Day 4: Turnaround Execution, Risk, and Performance Monitoring

Module 4: Implementing and Controlling the Turnaround

Topics

1.      Turnaround Governance, Leadership, and Implementation Structures

2.      Action Plans, Milestones, Owners, and Deadlines

3.      Performance Dashboards and Management Reporting

4.      KPI Tracking, Performance Reviews, and Corrective Actions

5.      Operational Risk Identification, Assessment, and Mitigation

6.      Financial, Cash Flow, Cost, and Resource Monitoring

7.      Managing Customers, Suppliers, Investors, and Other Stakeholders

8.      Escalation Processes and Decision-Making During Turnaround

9.      Managing Setbacks, Crisis Situations, and Unexpected Performance Declines

10.  Case Study: Managing a Turnaround Program Facing Major Implementation Risks

Day 5: Sustainable Recovery and Turnaround Capstone

Module 5: Embedding Sustainable Performance Improvement

Topics

1.      Measuring Turnaround Success and Organizational Recovery

2.      Transitioning From Stabilization to Sustainable Growth

3.      Embedding Improved Processes, Controls, and Performance Standards

4.      Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence

5.      Building Long-Term Accountability and Governance Systems

6.      Leadership Development, Succession Planning, and Organizational Capability

7.      Preventing Regression Into Underperformance

8.      Integrated Case Study: Turning Around an Underperforming Business Unit

9.      Final Assessment: Developing a Comprehensive Turnaround Management Strategy

10.  Course Review, 90-Day Turnaround Action Plan, and Continuous Improvement Strategy