Innovation

Knockri is a Canadian-based company founded in 2017 by Jahanzaib Ansari and co-founded by Maaz Rana and Faisal Ahmed. Knockri’s focus is to help companies virtually hire a diverse and high-performing workforce. They are dedicated to upholding fairness and removing unconscious biases throughout a company’s recruitment process. This innovative business solution contributes to reducing inequalities, good jobs with economic growth for the UN SDGs, and a better world. The company reduces inequalities by scientifically evaluating candidates with AI-powered behavioral assessments and job personas. It contributes to good jobs and economic growth by giving all candidates an equal opportunity without discrimination and presenting the candidates with the most skill who will add the most value to the company. Knockri has had a total of $4.5 million in funding, proving its success and benefits to society.

Knockri communicated their innovation to internal stakeholders once they found a team with similar experiences of discrimination in their hiring processes. The team knew about the lack of the world’s current hiring process, so they went on a mission to empower the world with fair and equal opportunity. Knockri helped communicate its innovation to external stakeholders by showing them the benefits of modernizing the company’s talent acquisition process. The impact was a reduced average time to hire a candidate, an increase in post-hire performance, and an enhanced candidate experience. Knockri has hosted many podcasts and webinars with stakeholders to continue to change the hiring process for the better and to bring in the most successful candidates.

Inspiration

The inspiration for this company came about when Jahanzaib Ansari noticed something while applying for jobs. He was frustrated when he was not hearing back from prospective employers, and he speculated that it was due to his non-anglicized name. Searching for a solution, Ansari told us, “One of the cofounders suggested I anglicize it.” Confirming his theory, when he anglicized his name, using variations of Jason, Jordan, and Jacob, he heard back quickly from recruiters. After this, he recognized that many unconscious biases lie in the hiring process and that it was affecting his chances of getting a job. He also realized that this was not just happening to him. Many other individuals were not given the same consideration as other candidates from different backgrounds. In his own words, Ansari realized many people in this world are being overlooked. This inspired him to find a better solution to the injustices in the hiring process and to create an innovation that could enable an equal opportunity for each individual- no matter their name, ethnicity, race, or religion. So, in 2017, Ansari got together with his cofounders to create Knockri’s software to eliminate discrimination and biases in the hiring process. He told us that a machine learning scientist created the interview assessment tool, and an industrial organizational psychologist actualized his novel idea. Overall, Ansari felt that it was his mission to create Knockri’s technology for not only himself in the workplace but also for many other individuals like him facing the same barriers.

Overall impact

Knockri has allowed individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, and gender, to get an equal opportunity to receive employment in any company they decide to apply. The company has helped cut down unconscious biases, token hires, and quota hires in numerous companies that would otherwise use their previous hiring methods to meet particular requirements. The CEO has reached out to other companies and departments, such as Novartis, IBM, and the Department of Defense, along with many supportive business partners to help spread the company’s vision in which they happily agreed to use their product and recognize their hiring flaws.

The services that Knockri provides have awarded them a Fortune 1000 status and are now spreading into the United States with their innovative products and services. They have helped countless companies become more inclusive with their hiring process and have helped stress the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion among companies. It has encouraged several companies to promote diversity in their recruitment programs to acquire talent among several groups of people.

Knockri has also proved that their AI (Artificial Intelligence) has ethical standards. So in the services used by other companies, not only are they using it to hire a more diverse group of people, but they are also using it to ensure no unconscious biases happen. The AI conducts scientific evaluation on every applicant when interviewing to ensure the evaluation basis is their skill, not their personality- since it is the skill set that will drive the company forward.

Business benefit

The business has many benefits from Knockri’s technology. Since many companies have multiple biases in their hiring process, many people are not getting a chance for the same opportunities as others. The innovation only analyzes the audio component of a video assessment converted to text, looking for skills and competencies directly correlated to success predictors on a particular job role. So candidates feel the selection process is fair. This analysis is essential because when hiring someone through this technology, they know that they were hired for their competencies and will not have doubts about the reason behind being selected. This analysis increases the chances that people will give their best at their companies and have satisfaction in their roles.

Candidates also like the process because it is much shorter than the typical hiring process, which can sometimes take months. Companies benefit from this quicker interview process by fulfilling their job roles efficiently and developing a more diverse workforce. The innovation provides mutual benefits for companies and employees, which leads to more effective and satisfactory workplace environments. This innovation directly impacts how society views corporations, their hiring processes, and the injustice level typically felt in workplaces. “We’ve assessed half a million candidates to date now, and we’ve been able to increase gender and racial diversity by up to 25%.”

When asked how this whole experience since developing the technology has changed his views on business or outside the business regarding society, Ansari mentions the injustices that typically occur. He said, “What goes on in the world? What types of systemic biases are in the workplace? What’s been going on in corporate America? Who are the less advantaged folks, and how we can help them gave me a holistic view of what’s been going on in the world, and helped me to understand some of the barriers, and how we can help overcome that.” He continues, “To eliminate barriers and make that everybody has a fair shot and equal opportunity. What we can control, we can control, and that’s the goal.”

Social and environmental benefit

Being around for about four and a half years, Knockri provides the best services for its customers and clients across Canada and the United States. Knowing the importance of diversity in the workplace and what it means to have a diverse workforce, the company has partnered with many companies where they would mutually benefit. Because its services are becoming high in demand, Knockri is constantly preferred to implement its just and fair system in the hiring process. “We have raised about five million dollars,” said Jahanzaib. As a fast-growing start-up, generating this much revenue shows the determination and mindset of a company driven by purpose.

Moreover, the people who have seen the company grow over the past several years also know that Knockri contributed to a jump in diverse hires. “We’ve assessed half a million candidates to date now, and we’ve been able to increase gender and racial diversity by up to 25%,” states Jahanzaib. This platform effectively shortlists candidates solely based on their performance during the interview process rather than their gender, race, or diversity. Increasing the company’s skillset is at the top of every company’s “wants.” Doing so with an open mind has significantly impacted productivity in a much more positive way.

Interview

Jahanzaib Ansari, Co-founder & CEO