Case Study: City of Memphis achieves faster 911 response and stronger police and firefighter recruitment with Oracle Cloud HCM

Memphis strengthens city services with Oracle Cloud

The City of Memphis set out to revitalize its workforce and improve delivery of emergency services for more than 652,000 residents after Mayor Jim Strickland took office. Residents wanted faster 911 responses and stronger police and fire coverage, but the city’s fragmented on‑premise HR systems and multistep hiring processes made it hard to recruit and onboard certified 911 operators, police officers, and firefighters from beyond the local area.

Memphis implemented Oracle Cloud HCM to automate recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and employee self‑service, moving applications and supporting documents online and consolidating all employee data into one system. Combined with better compensation, management training and retention incentives, the changecut police attrition by 25%, raised employee engagement by 14 percentage points, reduced 911 wait times from about 60 seconds to under 8 seconds for 95% of calls, and delivered 419 police recruits (net gain) and 363 new firefighters.

City of Memphis

Alexandria Smith

Chief Human Resources Officer