The majority of working Canadians believe that Canada’s diversity leads to greater innovation and business success, according to a national survey conducted by the Xerox Research Centre of Canada and Leger Marketing. The survey revealed that more than three-quarters of Canadian workers (77 per cent) feel that diversity in culture and background contributes to innovation and creates a stronger Canadian business landscape, and nearly four-fifths (79 per cent) of respondents feel that Canada’s cultural diversity gives us a distinct advantage when it comes to fostering innovation.

Working Canadians feel that individual talent and experience have the greatest impact on innovation (38 and 35 per cent), which was nearly unanimously seen by respondents as a necessity for business success (96 per cent). An individual’s worldliness was seen by respondents as more important to their ability to innovate than in-depth job knowledge or even education.

"The findings from this survey validate an approach that’s been the linchpin of Xerox Canada’s innovation success for decades: finding the most talented and innovative research professionals from around the world and bringing them together under one roof," says Hadi Mahabadi, vice-president and manager of the Xerox Research Centre of Canada. "In the global economy of the 21st century innovation will only thrive with the shared ideas of individuals with different backgrounds, areas of expertise and life experiences."

Other survey highlights:

• 68 per cent say that working as a team contributes to their own creativity and innovative thinking.
• 52 per cent of Canadian workers feel that brainstorming adds to their creativity and innovative thinking
• Exposure to different cultures (50 per cent) and working with people from different disciplinary backgrounds (46 per cent) bolsters creativity and innovation.
• Ninety-six per cent of Canadians seek the advice of those with a different background when solving business problems
• Opinions of those with different work experience (92 per cent), age (82 per cent), and "outlook on life" (82 per cent) are most frequently sought

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