TALLAHASSEE -- The centerpiece of Gov. Jeb Bush's drive to outsource state services was ridiculed Wednesday by fellow Republicans on a Senate panel who say they're tired of continued problems with Convergys Corp.

Lawmakers said the $350 million effort to privatize state personnel applications, benefits and records has been tarred by a revolving door of administrators and sloppy planning by Bush's Department of Management Services.

"There's plenty of blame to go around," said Sen. Nancy Argenziano, R-Dunnellon, chairwoman of the Governmental Oversight & Productivity Committee.

Confusion stemming from Convergys' nine-year contract for the servicing of state records already has helped prompt proposed legislation requiring more oversight of the Republican administration's outsourcing efforts by lawmakers.

It also has darkened Bush's vision, outlined in his second inaugural address, when he spoke of emptying Tallahassee's downtown buildings of workers -- turning the structures into "silent monuments to the time when government played a larger role than it deserved or could adequately fill."

Convergys began rolling out its online servicing of state records in stages two years ago but is now about a year behind schedule. It also has become plagued by state-worker complaints about missed paychecks, lost vacation days, missing overtime reports and trouble with health benefits.

Criticism of the company ratcheted up after lawmakers began facing the same problems as rank-and-file workers.

When the wife of Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg, went to the doctor recently, she learned her insurance company didn't have her listed. Sebesta is a member of the panel that grilled Convergys vice president Chris Emerick on Wednesday.

He blasted the company and the state agency for contributing to the failures of the program.

Argenziano was equally harsh.

"What the heck happened here?" Argenziano asked Emerick.

Emerick said the company in recent weeks has managed to reduce employee complaints and wait times on help-desk calls about payroll and benefits, after complaints peaked last fall and into February.

Emerick said DMS wanted a centralized system built under a "very aggressive timetable." But since the contract was signed, DMS has learned it needed more flexibility to cover a landscape of 32 state agencies, a university system and thousands of employees, and has sought changes.

"We're not going to be satisfied until each of you is satisfied and every employee is satisfied," Emerick said.