Xerox Research Centre of Canada

Turning diversity into a competitive advantage

Author YW Staff

Founded in 1974, the Xerox Research Centre of Canada (XRCC) has a global mandate to provide innovative ways to re-evaluate materials and processes to deliver more energy- and cost-efficient products to customers around the world. The teams behind these innovations are made up of individuals from around the world, which is an integral part of XRCC’s strategy for developing a world-class research centre. The hiring, mentoring and promotion of skilled immigrants has won the organization various awards, and we consider the company’s approach to diversity a workplace model worthy of mention.

Cultivating a Diverse Workforce

Dr. Hadi Mahabadi, vice president and centre manager of XRCC, was born in Iran, and held various academic positions, including Chair of Chemical Engineering Department of Tehran University of Technology, before joining Xerox.

“I came to Canada because of the country’s respect for multiculturalism,” says Dr. Mahabadi. “Additionally, I found that Xerox respects ‘diversity of thought’ by hiring researchers with different backgrounds. As a scientist, this is very important to me.” 

Xerox’s focus on diverse thought is a forward-thinking business decision. The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council has estimated that if all immigrants’ foreign credentials and work experience were recognized, between $3.42 and $4.97 billion would be added to the Canadian economy every year.

For example, Dr. Mahabadi was instrumental in the development of Emulsion Aggregation toner – an environmentally friendly toner that yields sharper image quality and higher colour consistency, while reducing energy use and encouraging faster warm-up time for the printers it’s used in. The toner is now available for use in all of Xerox’s printers and digital presses, and has proven so successful that additional manufacturing plants have opened in both the U.S. and Canada to keep up with international demand.

Sam Soong, patent lawyer; Hadi Mahabadi, vice president/centre manager, Xerox Research Centre of Canada; and Rina Carlini, researcher, Xerox Research Centre of Canada.

Mahabadi continues to be a major advocate of recruiting skilled immigrants for the XRCC team. In fact, 28% of XRCC employees graduated from university in their native countries and nearly half hold doctorate degrees. The centre has 137 employees from more than 35 countries. Skilled immigrants contribute their expertise in areas such as chemistry, physics, imaging science and chemical engineering. In 2007, XRCC won a Canadian Immigrant Success Award in the mid-sized employer category, in recognition of their inclusive culture.

Inclusiveness Vision

Inclusiveness is about promoting a positive work environment for all people – regardless of age, gender, racial background, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or other differences. Inclusiveness is also about valuing individual differences, not generalizing differences to entire groups of people. Xerox’s human resources policy is sensitive to a multicultural workforce. The company’s inclusiveness vision states:

Inclusiveness at Xerox Canada leverages the talents, innovation and creativity of our workforce. By attracting, developing and retaining the best talent we are an employer and supplier of choice for all.

Encouraging a diversified workforce is embedded in the Centre’s hiring practices, as skilled immigrants participate in the interview process of potential new hires.

“Inclusiveness is about how an individual brings value to the workplace. It is essential to have teams of productive people who are capable of working across barriers of language and culture,” explains Dr. Mahabadi. “This inclusive immigrant culture has enabled XRCC to flourish.”

On average, XRCC generates approximately 160 patentable ideas per year, and credits its diverse workforce as a vital factor for this success.

“The acceptance of diversity and inclusiveness helps the creativity and innovativeness of our centre. Different backgrounds and cultures help us focus on new research ideas that fit the Canadian research Centre’s global mandate,” he adds.

Article originally published in Volume 10-6 of Your Workplace magazine