Turnaround support for regional Victorian TAFE

With declining student numbers and revenue, and an increasing cost base, the TAFE faced challenges in achieving financial sustainability through its core operations. Previous efforts to improve performance had failed and the Department was losing confidence in an Executive group who was experiencing high turnover and instability.

A small KordaMentha team was engaged to perform a rapid financial and operational diagnostic. The findings informed the development of a turnaround plan which was co-designed with the Executive team.

Our team took a hands-on role in: 

• supporting senior Executive with the implementation and embedding of their turnaround plan
• establishing financial control mechanisms and developing monthly benefits tracking, financial and operational reporting for the Department, Board and Executive, and
• supporting the development of the business case for workforce reductions and separation packages. 

• Within twelve weeks the KordaMentha team completed a diagnostic across financial performance, revenue and course profitability, workforce and operational costs, property portfolio, culture and capability. 
• Developed a 12-month roadmap which sequenced the critical projects and workstreams required to deliver a balanced budget, including plans-on-a-page for each accountable workstream lead.
• Designed and built monthly reporting for the Department, Board and Executive to provide a concise consolidated view of the financial and operational position. 
• Supported the on-boarding of a Chief Transformation Officer and established the governance and operating rhythm for the turnaround program to better drive accountability and outcomes.
• Supported key workstreams with the delivery of immediate critical milestones, i.e. implementation of cost controls, business case approval of workforce reductions. 
• Provided a clear, independent view and ongoing support to the CEO and wider Executive team to build capability as they managed multiple Board and Department stakeholders during a challenging period.