PROBE (PROmoting Business Excellence) is a powerful, proven, performance enhancement tool that uses a tailored benchmarking system to help red meat companies of all types and sizes, to chart a path to excellence.

The purpose of the tool is to equip organisations with insights into their systems and processes, highlighting where organisations are in comparison with international standards of best practice.

The process consists of the following stages:

1. Agreeing programme and setting dates for meetings with PROBE team
2. Choosing a 'cross-functional' team within the company
3. Completing the PROBE multiple choice questionnaires
4. One day feedback meeting with PROBE specialist and company team to review results and discuss opportunities
5. Follow-up Workshop to develop action plans to enhance performance

Using the RMIF PROBE tool to enable performance improvement has the following benefits:

1.   A powerful change management tool:

• RMIF PROBE sheds light on the need for change and identifies exactly what needs to change for performance improvement to occur
• RMIF PROBE acts directly on the things that matter
• Generates a motivated 'change team' within the company which leads to performance improvement
• Confidentiality - RMIF PROBE is not an audit, giving participants confidence in the process to really explore their challenges. It is a process that empowers staff, giving them the confidence to identify the need for change and to act upon it.

2.    A powerful strategic tool:

• Ensures organisations are better equipped to deliver performance improvement
  Allows organisations to identify the causes of their performance and understand their next steps to improve it.
• Can help smaller red meat providers to take the time out of hectic schedules to stop fire-fighting and think and act strategically about their systems and processes
• Helps organisations improve their customer focus
• It's quick, simple and not open-ended - the PROBE partnership does not offer any further consultancy that might come out of the service.

3.   A powerful diagnostic benchmarking tool

• Allows the possibility of confidentially sharing best practice - participants can benchmark against any area of excellent practice in any industry