Dive Brief:

• Executives with profit and loss (P&L) responsibility may be critical to the success of employers' diversity and inclusion initiatives, but they're not in place to make change happen, according to survey findings from Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. In its poll of 100 financial services professionals, the company found that while 95% of those surveyed agreed that executives managing P&L should help shape diversity initiatives within their organizations, about half said HR is solely responsible for designing and executing such initiatives at their firms.
• In other findings, 91% of respondents said that diverse workforces help organizations identify and access new business opportunities. Others cited improved talent acquisition and retention and improved client service as beneficial outcomes to implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives in the financial sector.
• "While the financial services industry has made strides in understanding the cultural benefits of diverse workplaces, there is still a significant disconnect in understanding the true potential for the bottom line," said Frieda Lewis, chief commercial diversity officer at Broadridge, in a statement. "To experience the full potential of diversity, firms should not view it as solely an HR mandate. Firms need to engage and motivate their business leaders to build diverse teams that can drive the bottom line in new and innovative ways."

Dive Insight:

To better tackle challenges in their organizations, ​HR professionals are building previously unconsidered partnerships. HR leaders have found that a relationship with the CFO can bolster HR's ability to plan for, acquire and retain talent — a must in today's market. Likewise, with marketing's help, HR is getting in on branding to improve how candidates and employees alike perceive employers. P&L execs could be another partner for HR to consider as it works to improve D&I initiatives.

As Broadridge pointed out, job seekers look deliberately for employers that represent their values, and for almost two-thirds of job seekers, diversity is that value, according to recent research from Yello. Half of respondents to the Yello survey said they would consider asking about a company's diversity and inclusion efforts while interviewing. Even more said they'd hesitate to accept an offer if they did not encounter a diverse array of employees during the interview process. Though diversity can be a challenge for employers, it has shown to serve the bottom line, as Broadridge asserts in its report. A recent study out of North Carolina Sate University also found that a diverse workforce performs better at developing innovative products and services.