Staff and clients frustrated at service's computer system

Staff and client dissatisfaction and the Y2K bug are making life even tougher for a service already suffering political problems. ADAM GIFFORD reports.


Documents available on the internet indicate widespread staff and client dissatisfaction with Work and Income New Zealand's computer systems.

The revelation follows criticism by the State Services Commission on the new department's lack of progress in managing Y2K risks.

As part of the merger of the Employment Service and Social Welfare's Income Support section, Work and Income must merge or modify several major computer systems, including the $50.63 million SWIFTT benefit payment system and SOLO, the $31 million Employment Service job-seeker registration and case-management system.

It is also working on the $38 million Focus project to tie benefit assessment, payment, training and employment into one system, allowing case management by frontline staff.

Systems integrator EDS New Zealand is the main contractor for the project, due for completion in June 2001.

Work and Income failed to respond to the Business Herald's written questions on its Y2K and IT issues.

Labour MP Steve Maharey said that was not unusual, as even the select committee looking at Work and Income expenditure had not got far in its attempts to probe rumours of major technical problems and potential budget blowouts.

"They normally deny there is a problem until it's proven there is one," Mr Maharey said.

In a Y2K statement on its web site, Work and Income said it was confident it would continue to pay benefits and have services available, and would have business continuity plans in place to handle emergencies.

It said work was complete making SWIFTT and SOLO Y2K-ready. Work fixing residential care loans, war pensions, data match and TRACE was due to be completed last month. Testing should be finished by the end of next month and business continuity planning by the end of October.

Staff disaffection with the present computer system is detailed in discussion documents posted in March at www.winzsuccess.gen.nz by Synergia, a consultancy hired by Work and Income to develop a "success model" for the new department.

Consultant Miles Shepheard reported that in all sites visited, staff reported technology difficulties and feelings of frustration and technology and skill levels.

There was also frustration about how the call centres, a key part of the reforms, were working. He said there was "widespread frustration that only good news is reportable, that no one wants to know bad news; that lack of acknowledgment of many concerns indicates that suggestions will also not be heeded. This frustration is leading to some suspicion about the 'leadership's' motives."

One indication of the department's faith in new technology was the decision to replace job boards with computers linked to the job vacancy database.

If job-seekers could not use computers, staff said, they had to interrupt their own work to help. They also said the job vacancy database was difficult to navigate and its search function was not good.

The same computers were also used by job-seekers to write CVs, during which time they could not be used for job searching. Some offices reported that huge queues were forming to use computers, others said people stopped coming in to look for jobs once the boards went.

Mr Shepheard said some offices had put job boards back up, or put short job descriptions up on a whiteboard.

He said the Synergia team identified information systems problems as one of three key drivers in the change process.

"When staff become clear about what the business is about, when the technology problems are overcome, and when the roles and relationships are clarified, many of the other issues will disappear."

Among the IT problems identified were information systems not talking to one another, referral technology which did not talk between case managers, who look after the beneficiaries, and work brokers, who liaise with employers.

Debbie Mohr, senior advocate at the People's Centre, said the technology problems impacted every day on the way job-seekers and beneficiaries were treated.

"Staff are totally reliant on the computer, and in many cases the information on the system is incorrect," she said.

"They've got the wrong mathematical formulas for benefit calculations in the computer, and a lot of the staff don't know how to do it manually."

She said information on benefit entitlements was often wrong, so call centre or front office staff gave faulty advice. For example, the advice on the computer was that the benefit for domestic caregivers looking after people who would otherwise be in hospital was not payable to spouses or parents.

"The Social Security Act only refers to spouses. It's causing huge problems, especially for people looking after adult children," Debbie Mohr said.

"Another one is that if your partner is illegally in the country, you are treated as a single person for benefit rate purposes. The computer can't cope with that."

She said the system crashed every few weeks, disrupting appointment schedules, which could lead to people losing benefits.

When computers were down, staff could not do anything - even issue emergency food grants - because they were unable to see what the beneficiary was entitled to.

Debbie Mohr said the system encouraged staff to send out generic letters, rather than address specific problems. That meant beneficiaries could face considerable difficulties finding out the exact reason their benefits were suspended.