TouchStone Business System

Got my moneys worth and we can see that as we grow it will continue to keep us on top of our business.

Pros

Easy to use but more importantly the way it organizes our business. It's well thought out. The customer support is crucial and the passion the people there have for what they do makes a big difference. That is important to us because a lot of companies out there are not helpful and you have to figure out everything yourself.

Cons

Can not think of anything just the time it takes but all systems take time to do it right.

Touchstone Processes in an Automobile Dealership

Job definitions are very important, teaching new employees and evaluating their progress in areas such as sales and customer service, and standardization of jobs throughout our organization are all possible with the Touchstone system. The support from the Touchstone cannot be outdone by any other. Weekly tutoring by a Touchstone instructor and web based tutorials are available. Tutorials are updated often. There are also easily accessible examples of other business plans that can be incorporated into a new customer's plan.

Pros

The Touchstone system teaches how important structure is in an organization and sets responsibilities for each job level in the dealership. The top managers are responsible for those who work under his/her direction and have methods to evaluate the performance of each employee based on the definition of the job and work plans that fall under that position. Job descriptions are actually all of the processes that are assigned to the position. The system not only defines the jobs but allows management to create work plans that have processes clearly listed in sequential order. The system also allows inserting pictures, documents, links to outside sources and many other techniques into the processes. These make excellent training resources and references for employees if they forget a process. So, the system introduces structure, teaching and assessing methods, and job descriptions in a concise organized easily accessed manner. We have only scratched the surface of all that Touchstone can do for our dealerships. We are striving for standardization of all the jobs at all of the stores so that employees can move from store to store and feel comfortable at each one.

Cons

My personal problem with the software is not the software itself but my lack of time to spend on building the workplans that we need. As I engage other managers, I hope to spread some of the duties to others. Then we can proceed much faster with the project. I enjoy adding graphics and examples into each process and the results are great. But it is time consuming for persons like me who have many other duties. Time management is one of the by-products of the system, and I have not mastered that yet. It is worth the effort to have the business organized so that new employees can easily see their duties. But building the system takes time and commitment. However, eventually the system will save everyone time.

TouchStone review

The support by TouchStone is excellent! We have used it successfully to create process driven systems that enable growth and maintain a great culture and maintain consistency.

Pros

The best feature is that it provides a platform to create and run a process driven business. This enables growth, consistency, and adherence to the company Mission and culture

Cons

Functionality: It can be challenging to learn at first. Requires someone to make a commitment of time and energy to champion its use.

A must have for every business

We are planning on expanding into different states. Having this program will make replicating our system and processes so much smoother. Its already helped us develope a organizational chart, which is a great tool.

Pros

I like that its very easy to customize every aspect of the program. Its also nice that what ever you do, your able to go in and restore it. The instructors are experts in this program.

Cons

I haven't found anything that I don't like. I will say that at first it does feel like, its a lot to get. But I recommend working on it daily.

Process Improvement

Pros

Touchstone allows us to create, organize and refine our processes. It is an invaluable tool for our business and something we utilize daily.

Cons

The Org Chart is a bit lacking, it does not allow the user to play with different scenarios so we need to do all of the proposed changes outside of the system before we make them permanent.