TIAA: A Financial Services Giant That Works For You
With more than $40 billion in annual revenue and almost $1 trillion in assets under management, TIAA is not only among the world’s top earners—the financial services organization is also consistently ranked among the top employers for promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion.
One of its greatest assets, in that pursuit, is its Business Resource Group model, which fosters leadership development opportunities and cultural awareness company-wide. “Our job is to align with TIAA’s business through building a shared sense of community,” says Ernest Alexander, TIAA’s director of operations and the national co-chair of Empowered, its African American and Caribbean professionals resource group. “This year we piloted a powerful new recruitment event,” says Alexander. “We brought close to 150 HBCU [historically black colleges and universities] students for two days at our campus in Charlotte to learn more about TIAA and meet some of our people—including our CEO Roger Ferguson. It was so successful, we’re going to repeat it in other parts of the country.” Empowered also provides resources to help employee members advance within the company. “In our mentoring program, we match senior employees with newer ones,” says Alexander. “Mentors and mentees are both enthusiastic about the experience, and TIAA benefits from better retention.” Sponsoring events to showcase black leaders and achievements, Empowered has ensured that celebrating diversity is a company-wide initiative. Alexander remembers one event in particular that the entire staff rallied behind: “When Ken Chenault,” the former CEO and chairman of American Express, “spoke about his career in our New York headquarters, we broadcast it across all our locations, and it was standing room only!” “TIAA has a deep commitment to attracting, retaining and developing employees from diverse backgrounds,” adds Glenn Richter, senior executive vice president, chief financial officer and executive sponsor for the Empowered BRG at TIAA. “We understand that our ability to create a diverse and inclusive culture for employees enhances our ability to understand and serve our customers.”