246 Marchh 2021
CITY OF MEMPHIS
had accrued their own solutions. They were
very amenable to her suggestion that these
be replaced by enterprise solutions wherever
possible. “Now they see us as the people to
help them make the right choice, confident
that we want what works best for them.”
Bailey's intimate exposure to HR work over
many years helped shape her leadership
style. The human element became critically
important as Covid-19 struck. “I don't just
check on what my teams are doing, but how
they are doing: they are more than a resource
for us: we are a resource for them and all
8,000 city employees too.” Kimberly Bailey's
approach is best shown by her actions: her first
action on becoming deputy leader in 2019 was
to schedule a 15-minute one-to-one meeting
with each of the 80 staffers in the IT division.
“I want to know what each person does, what
they like about their work and what they would
Kimberly Bailey talks the
City of Memphis' IT development
“ We immediately
decided to send
home our non-
customer-facing
people, like
programmers and
developers and
project managers”
KIMBERLY BAILEY
CIO,
CITY OF MEMPHIS