Get the Y2K word out - human resource departments have the responsibility of reassuring employees about the readiness of their firms' systems

HR Magazine, Sept, 1999 by Carolyn Hirschman

To quash rumors and reassure employees, HR should communicate with the workforce about systems' readiness.

While most employers say they have the Year 2000 computer problem under control, their employees may not feel so confident.

The systems that matter most to them - systems covering payrolls, health insurance plans, 401(k) plans, the computers they use every day for work - might be ready for Y2K. But how do employees know for sure? How do employers keep rumors from spreading and Y2K fear from creating a year-end deluge of questions? The new year may cause disruption in many workplaces, experts say, but HR managers can use everything from videos to memos to contests to ease employees' worries and ensure a smooth transition.

Widely viewed as a problem for the information technology office to fix, Y2K has an overlooked human dimension, according to consultants.

"Companies cannot merely consider their people to be an afterthought following technological change," says John M. Bremen, a partner at the Center for Workforce Effectiveness (CWE), a management consulting firm in Northbrook, Ill. "Companies need to realize that on Jan. 1, 2000, Y2K goes from being an IT problem to everybody's problem. Without a focus on customers and people, it could be a nightmare."

"Just as organizations need contingency plans to deal with the technical aspects [of Y2K], they need contingency plans to deal with the people aspects," says Joyce L. Gioia, president of the Herman Group, a management consulting firm based in Greensboro, N.C. If technology fails, workers, not machines, must pick up the pieces and ride out the crisis, she adds.

The Y2K problem stems from the inability of older computer systems and software to recognize year 2000 dates correctly. Without extensive testing and remediation, payroll, insurance and other date-sensitive programs will recognize "00" as "1900" instead of the intended "2000." The results could include malfunctions and shutdowns.

Employees naturally wonder: Will my paycheck bounce? Will my benefits be OK? Will my keycard work? Will my computer work? Will the lights and heat be on? Assuming IT has done its job, now is the time for HR managers to step up communications with their workforces, to reassure them of their organization's Y2K readiness and to plan for problems that could arise.

"Most companies will probably have the bulk of their Y2K work done. There's a small number that will be completely done. There's a small number that will be hit hard. How that impacts employees remains to be seen," says Bruce F. Webster, a Dallas-based consultant and co-director of the Washington D.C. Year 2000 Group, a professional association of Y2K experts.

Don't Wait for Questions

HR is getting more involved in Y2K communications as employers approach the end of the year and realize their employees need information and reassurance.

Many employers long ago appointed special Y2K teams, but HR often was frozen out, consultants say. In a January 1999 survey of 22 global corporations, CWE found that while 95 percent of the companies had Y2K teams, only 35 percent of the teams included representatives from HR, customer service and marketing. That's because top managers worried that their actual Y2K readiness might not match HR's rosy predictions, leading to embarrassed managers and confused workers, Bremen says.

But HR has a role to play in Y2K communications now. "HR workforce leaders simply must participate in Y2K activities. Even if they are not active members of standing Y2K teams, it is imperative that they remain informed on key Y2K decisions and liabilities," wrote Bremen and partner Maggi Coil in the May/June 1999 issue of Compensation & Benefits Review.

According to Bremen and others, the key messages to communicate are: Here's what we're doing, here's how you might be affected, here are some precautions you can take and here's what to do if there's a problem.

"Get out front on it. Don't wait until [employees] start asking questions and complaining," advises Jeff Caponigro, president and CEO of Caponigro Public Relations in Southfield, Mich., a public relations firm specializing in crisis management.

He adds, "People want to be reassured. They don't really want the details. They want to know just enough for you to convince them you've done what you're supposed to."

Do Your Homework

HR managers first should find out the true status of their organizations' Y2K compliance. That means talking to your own IT and Y2K experts as well as outside vendors for payroll (including direct deposit), health insurance, 401(k) plans and other benefits. Once you know where you stand - and what's left to be done - you can assess what employees must do and then inform them, says Webster.

Don't take vendors at their word, Gioia adds. Check to see if they have tested the systems that affect your employees. Employers by now should have run company-specific payroll and other tests with a sample of simulated dates in 2000 to make sure everything works. For example, payroll and benefits administrator ADP Employer Services, of Roseland, N.J., led a nationwide test of Y2K payroll readiness for 20 financial institutions earlier this year. Participants transmitted payrolls, downloaded files and validated paychecks using dates in 2000 and a database of fictitious employees. Key dates ran without problems, ADP reports.