Fiasco

I knew nothing good could be happening inside when I saw a colleague in tears coming out of the door where I had just dropped Heidi. 

In an effort to address the outcry that followed the decision to make all employees switch insurance plans, the central office of our school system offered the opportunity for staff to meet with representatives from the new company and have their transition questions answered. The event was scheduled today, during our professional learning time from 8-5 at one of the high schools. 

In another colossal failure of planning, however, there were only three representatives from the company present, who could get through about 18 people an hour. Mind you, this change affected nearly 6,000 people, and over half of them are in a position where they must find an entirely new medical team and navigate different coverage for prescription and medical devices. Not surprisingly, they have questions.

Nearly 1,000 people showed up, and an hour into the session, wait times were estimated to be 3-4 hours, with at least 75% of those attending unlikely to see anyone at all. Compounding the situation is the fact that none of us can contact the new company ourselves until our start of coverage date, January 1, 2024.

Members of the HR team were overheard to express their dismay, not at the obvious poor planning, but at how ridiculous it was that so many people had questions. "Didn't they read their email?" sniped one.

As for Heidi, she waited in line to sign her name documenting her attendance. At 11:30 am she was given the number 7A, uncertain as to where it fell in a numerical sequence where they were just calling numbers 70-80 to come up and meet the representatives, and other employees she knew had numbers in the 500s. Then she gave up and we went home.