It's almost 1998 ... do you know where your company's Year 2000 Project is?

Each time you write a check, notice that the century identification "19" often is preprinted. Convenient, isn't it? Well, it won't be in the year 2000.

Yes, printers can easily begin dropping the "19" from checks. The only consequence will be training users to specify "19" or "20," depending on when they intend the check to be paid.

Sounds simple enough. So why worry about the "year 2000 problem"?

The year 2000, or "Y2K," problem has organizations scurrying because not all of life is as simple as printing dateless checks. Lurking deep below the surface of millions of computer screens and hidden in thousands of handy electronically controlled devices such as elevators, automobiles and airplanes are microchips whose date determinants use only the last two digits of the year.

Until the year 2000, the numbers in each succeeding year will be greater than the year just past. But when "99" is followed by "00," there's going to be a bit of confusion. Some systems will assume it's 1900 and send inaccurate data out to other systems. Some devices will shut down, as they are programmed to do when they get an "unexpected" result.

Widespread Effect

"Assuring every business function will work in the year 2000 is the biggest project many organizations have ever had to manage," said Bob Large, NationsBank executive vice president and Y2K project director. "There are some technical challenges, to be sure. But technical challenges have specific technical solutions. The greater management and communication challenge is getting an entire enterprise to interrupt hundreds-of diverse, existing priorities to address something as future-sounding as the year 2000."

The problem will affect nearly every organization, business and government agency, as well as millions of households. Especially vulnerable are companies that trade data files with other companies or agencies; they will need not only to coordinate their own changes, but to also orchestrate their changes with those of their many business partners.

The year 2000 challenge also is especially hard for companies with a decentralized culture: No one person or group knows where all the computer systems are or what they do. Yet many of these systems exchange data. Getting all systems compliant in time needs centralized coordination, yet the individual entities have been taught to value their independent decisions and end results.

The work of finding, fixing and testing millions of date indicators is going to create a great deal of frenzy, angst and cost in organizations around the globe over the next two years. The Gartner Group, one of the most often quoted Y2K consulting firms, has estimated that between U.S. $300 billion and $600 billion will be spent worldwide to fix such problems. The group predicts that many companies will fail because of Y2K impact, either because they can't afford the cost to correct everything or because they fail to correct critical functions and lose their ability to do business.

Communicators who haven't heard much about the situation in their organizations will want to check out web sites and trade publications for their industry, scan recent articles in the business press and then start asking questions. But they'll need to do this quickly. Investors, business lending firms, regulatory agencies and key customers already may be asking for documentation about their company's ability to do business in the year 2000, and its estimated costs of doing so. Employees in different departments might be giving totally different responses, none of which have been cleared by the legal department.

Here is a look at what some communicators around the world are doing to help assure their organizations will be able to do business in the year 2000:

Team Approach at NationsBank

Jeanne Ellis, communication manager for the NationsBank Y2K project team, currently has a staff of four communicators working full-time on communication support for the firm's aggressive readiness timetable. The core team coordinates communication planning through an enterprise-wide Y2K communication task force and by supporting the project team and communicators in the various lines of business.

The key strategy, Ellis said, is "plan, but flex.

"We have a thorough strategic plan, but every project meeting turns up new issues that create communication opportunities," Ellis said. "Everyone on our team hit the ground running and has a full plate of deliverables. But we're still discovering new ways we can contribute to the effort."

NationsBank is based in Charlotte, N.C., and has more than 85,000 associates serving retail and commercial customers in 16 states in the U.S. and 13 other countries.

"Communication is critical," Ellis said. "Internally, you need to gain awareness, understanding and commitment across all lines of business and functions to plan and schedule the work. Externally, you need to keep the confidence of your customers and shareholders and coordinate compliance strategies and dates with vendors and other business partners."

In the past year, the Y2K project communication team has, among many other activities:

* Recruited task force members from marketing, internal communication, media relations, investor relations, issues management, operations and the Y2K project,

* developed memos and background from NationsBank CEO Hugh McColl to senior managers to explain the key issues, the plan and the priority Y2K efforts require,

* developed a Y2K intranet site, a series of features for the employee newspaper and tool kits for use in work-group and town hall-type meetings,

* helped shape strategies for communicating with customers, vendors and other business partners, and

* developed, and is implementing, a plan to prepare customer-contact managers and employees to respond confidently to questions from customers.

SmithKline Beecham Focuses on Business Effect

Coordinating the communication efforts of SmithKline Beecham PLC (SB), the global pharmaceutical and health care company based outside London, U.K., is Neil McCrae, communication manager for SB's Information Resources (IR) function.

SB began planning and assessment in 1995, and by November 1996 McCrae had published a 24-page booklet describing the issue and the company's response. The book, created for SB's 53,000 employees, opens with the CEO calling Y2K "an issue for our entire business."

"SB's senior management is openly committed to getting the company in shape well before the year 2000," McCrae said. "Communicators working without that level of focus at the top of the organization will be fighting an uphill battle."

The hub of millennium activity at SB is the year 2000 project office, which sets the Y2K direction and develops common processes across the company. The actual code crunching and testing, though, is carried out by an army of technical staff spread across the world. Easing the flow of information between the center and the field is a priority for SB's year 2000 communication strategy.

"Raising general awareness is important, but arguably the most important exchange of information is between the project, office and the hundreds of information resources staff working to make systems compliant," McCrae said.

The SB project office developed a Lotus Notes database for sharing information, such as best practices, lessons learned, procedures, and compliance documents. To support the database, McCrae launched a bimonthly electronic newsletter called Countdown aimed at year 2000 "combatants."

"Countdown is a way of uniting the team and directing them to the database for further information," he said.

To reinforce the "Y2K-is-really-a-business-issue" message, McCrae works with communicators in different parts of the organization to ensure they understand Y2K implications. He also lobbies to get Y2K issues onto business unit agendas through publications and lunch-time briefings.

"A good communication strategy should help clear the way for the year 2000 effort," he said. "This is a sizable, pervasive task, without precedent and with an immovable deadline. We must do everything we can to promote understanding, urgency and timely information flow."

AT&T's Year 2000 Challenge

Communication for AT&T's "Year 2000 Challenge" is coordinated by Mike Zeaman in teamwork with communication representatives for the business units. Zeaman created a corporate-wide plan with input from the business unit communicators. Then each communicator adapted the plan, as necessary, for that specific unit.

Zeaman said the partnership between global and local communicators allows the blend of both perspectives: A strategy that reflects the reputation and image of the corporation and at the same time fits the special needs and personalities of the different businesses.

"In addition to driving local communication, team members keep business unit managers informed about enterprise-wide communication plans and activities," Zeaman said. "For example, they made sure local managers understood the importance of calling meetings for an initial video and discussions, of encouraging employees to check out the intranet, and of nailing down customer communication strategies. They also work to make sure that Y2K is on their story budgets for their local communication."

AT&T's overall strategy for Y2K communication is to make sure employees understand how Y2K issues affect AT&T and what AT&T is doing to resolve any potential problems. The basic message, Zeaman said, is: "Be aware, stay informed, pitch in.

"We knew there would be a lot of discussion about year 2000 in the media. We want to make sure that our employees were aware of what the company was doing to address the issue and fortify their abilities to be effective ambassadors for the business. We want our people to be confident that the 'millennium bug' is not going to affect our ability to maintain high-quality service."

Internal strategies at AT&T to date include face-to-face meetings with a discussion guide, and videotape of the president giving high-level commitment, and a Y2K intranet site.

To maintain momentum and coordinate efforts, AT&T's Y2K communication team meets every other week for two hours. Zeaman coordinates the topics, often bringing in guest speakers from different areas of the project to give people ideas for feature angles to keep Y2K awareness alive.

"One of our biggest challenges is closing the complacency gap, getting people to understand why we have to do things now," Zeaman said. "That's why we intend to keep the momentum going, to keep people motivated to work on Y2K efforts now to assure everything is finished in time."

The project team also has responsibility for external communication, including communicating with customers. Zeaman created a basic core of information for team members to adapt to existing customer contact communication channels.

He also coordinated with other AT&T communicators to develop a brochure for customers and information for AT&T's Internet site.

"We have more than 90 million customers and we get a lot of inquiries, far too many to respond to by letter. The general brochure gives a broad overview of our approach and refers inquiries to the web site and other sources if they want more details," he said.

Efforts at Imperial Oil

As a communication associate with Imperial Oil Limited, based in Toronto, Brent Carey sees another strong reason communicators need to be engaged early in an organization's year 2000 efforts.

"Some people think this is just an information systems [IS] problem and IS people should just go out and fix it. Not so," Carey said. "Any process-control system, individually created spreadsheet or data base, or any number of operations no central group even knows about might be affected. Many employees outside information systems will have work to do.

"Our communication objectives include creating high awareness of the risk of not being ready by December 31, 1999, and the work that all of us need to do to prevent that from happening. The company will need the expertise and support of all employees. That's why employee communication is such a high priority and is being taken very seriously."

Imperial's 7,500 employees across Canada received a four-page special insert in the July 1997 Reporter, the company newspaper. That initial publication explained the problem, the estimated costs, the company's plans, how employees would be involved and whom to contact for more information. Carey said face-to-face meetings will supplement additional print media throughout the work effort.

Communicators as Coordinators in New Zealand 

Jason Dykes "coordinates the communication coordinators" for the Y2K effort at Telecom New Zealand, based in Wellington.

"Our company generally devolves a lot of decision making to individual business groups," Dykes said. "Each business area has a communication coordinator as a contact for project managers, sales people and myself. These coordinators manage proactive communication activities and act as central points for receiving and answering customer queries."

Dykes has coordinated briefings for the business unit communicators and developed an overall communication plan that outlines the objectives, key messages and key issues each business area is expected to mirror in its own activities.

"The biggest challenge communicators face," he said, "is keeping our messages consistent: We need all 9,000 of our employees, and especially those dealing with customers, to say the same things to avoid confusion. Another big challenge is having enough knowledge to be confident that suppliers and project people are giving us an accurate picture of their progress in resolving problems."

If the year 2000 is creating the biggest challenge organizations have faced, it likely will be the biggest challenge for corporate communicators as well.

"Helping to assure an organization can do business in and after the year 2000," Ellis, of NationsBank, said, "gives communicators an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the value of strategically planned communication." It positions us in strategic business partnership with key executives and technology leaders, two very important groups, both for the future of the organization and for the future of communicators."

RELATED ARTICLE: Communication Challenges for January 3, 2000

Communicators who do not help their companies prepare for the year 2000 might find themselves busy indeed on the first day of work that year. If your company overlooks some key impacts, you may find yourself facing these immediate challenges the morning of Jan. 3, 2000:

How will you communicate to employees that the computer thinks everyone's password has expired so no one can sign onto the network?

How will you explain to your customers that you have no way to process their orders because the computer keeps rejecting the "00" entered as the year field of the purchase date?

How will you explain to your customers that you cannot process their orders because the computers at some key suppliers, who all swore they would be ready for the year 2000, think you canceled all your orders?

What will you tell your officers and directors, who hold legal responsibility to minimize major risks to the corporation, that the stock just hit 1952 values?

RELATED ARTICLE: Sound Decision the Time

The assumption that the first two digits of the year are "19" seemed logical back in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. It saved time in data entry and valuable data storage space. Computer technology was relatively new and changing every year. Who would have thought that programming code would be around 30 to 40 years later?

But as the year 2000 screams closer, businesses, governments and technology advisors everywhere are warning about the dangers of that assumption. And, in the meantime, the tradition of shortcutting the century indicator became the standard for most personal computers (although not the Apple Macintosh) and for the computer chip technology inside a 'million handy devices we have grown to love: automobiles, entertainment centers, security systems, watches, etc.

Because computer chips touch so much of our personal and business lives, lots of things could go wrong. In addition to mainframe computers, year 2000 project teams must investigate PCs, mid-range systems, elevators, corporate jets, fax machines, telecommunications, security systems - anything controlled by a microchip.

RELATED ARTICLE: Sampling of Y2K Web Sites

(most have links to other sites)

Year2000.com - one of the original sites, courtesy of Y2K consultant PeterDeJager:

* http://www.year2000.com/

Bibliography:

* http://www.ttuhsc.edu/pages/year2000/y2k_bib.htm

British Computer Society Y2K page:

* http://www.bcs.org.uk/millen.htm

Scottish Software Federation Y2K site:

* http://www.year2000.scotsoft.org.uk

Countdown to 2000, in milliseconds:

* http://www.inforoute.cgs.fr/roussel2/

Or simply choose a search engine, search "year 2000" - and stand back!

Diane St. John, APR, is an internal communication consultant based in Charlotte, N.C. She can be reached at [phone] or via e-mail at [e-mail].