How Applicant Tracking Software Supports Diversity Recruitment Goals

Data is currency. And when it comes to recruitment, it’s the most valuable currency your organisation has. Good quality hiring data informs workforce planning, increases retention and supports your diversity hiring goals. And the best way to capture that data? Applicant Tracking Software (ATS).

In this blog you’ll learn:

• How the changes to the Employment Rights Bill and the Equality (Disability & Race) Bill are impacting recruitment practices.
• How the right software supports HR teams with compliance.
• How the right tools give you clear visibility of your DEI data.

With significant changes to UK employment legislation already in motion, there is growing pressure on organisations – particularly those with 250+ employees – to gain better visibility of their hiring data. Recent changes to the Employment Rights Bill, as well as the proposed Equality (Race & Disability) Bill will require organisations not only to report on key hiring and employment data, but also to demonstrate the actions they are taking to become more inclusive employers.

Having the right tech to gather, store and interrogate this wealth of data is no longer optional. Technology moves fast, and organisations that fall behind find it increasingly  difficult to catch up. If you’re ready to find a better way to support your diversity recruitment goals and capture that all-important hiring data, then Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) is the best place to start.

With a range of affordable options available, online applicant tracking software reduces manual admin, supports compliance, and captures all your diversity hiring data in one place. And in the long run, the right system is a significantly wiser investment than the cost of non-compliance.

Jump to:

• What’s going on with UK employment rights?
• What’s the impact of UK employment legislation changes on recruiters?
• Why does DEI hiring make good business sense?
• What signs indicate your current recruitment process is introducing bias?
• How can applicant tracking software improve fairness in shortlisting?
• What DEI metrics should an organisation track within an ATS?
• What features make applicant tracking software DEI compliant?
• Using your data currency.

What’s going on with UK employment rights?

Despite the “DEI-lite” approach in other countries, Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity is further up the current Labour government’s agenda than it has ever been before. Some might even say the UK is doubling down in the face of international drawback. UK firms are also continuing to embed DEI in their core operations, from hiring through to employee engagement. Showing a robust trend towards DEI being absorbed into ‘business as usual’, rather than being treated as a separate initiative or a ‘nice to have’.

The new Employment Rights Bill, and imminent Equality (Disability & Race) Bill set out the Government’s plans to enhance existing legislation even further, demonstrating the UK’s intention to lead the way with DEI. Mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers would make the UK one of the first countries in the world to require reporting of this kind. Read the Government’s announcement.

So, what changes do employers need to be aware of?

• Employers will be expected to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment, raising the bar on policy, training, reporting, and manager accountability.
• Third-party harassment protections are also expected to return, which matters for businesses with public-facing staff or client exposure.
• Confidentiality clauses can no longer be used to stop workers from raising harassment or discrimination concerns.
• Anti-discrimination legislation will be further enhanced with measures like mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting (expected for organisations with 250+ employees) as well as broader equal pay rights.
• Beyond simple reporting, larger organisations will need to demonstrate active gender pay gap and menopause action plans.
• An expansion of Family-friendly rights, including day-one paternity and unpaid parental leave, supporting more inclusive hiring and retention.

What’s the impact of UK employment legislation changes on recruiters?  

Any changes to employment rights will, naturally, have a big impact on recruiters and HR teams. At this stage, while some legislation is live and other parts are yet to come into law, smart recruiters are already beginning to audit their hiring workflows and collect historic hiring data to establish a baseline. There’s an excellent summary of all the Employment Rights Bill changes, with timelines, here.

Hiring teams will be expected to support wider HR and leadership teams on reporting for gender, disability and ethnicity, looking not just at those who share protected characteristics, but also the percentage that prefer not to say. These data points will be key for future audits.

HR teams should be auditing employment contracts and NDAs to ensure they comply with the new harassment/whistleblower protections. Again, there’s an excellent summary from legal professionals here.

Perhaps the single most important thing recruiters need to do right now is to ensure that they are collecting and securely storing their hiring data. Simple applicant tracking software enables teams to support their compliance processes at every stage and centralises core hiring documentation for version control.

Why does DEI hiring make good business sense?

DEI hiring is good news for employers, particularly when it comes to attracting and retaining employees. Independent reporting found that 59% of UK workers would consider leaving if their employer rolled back DEI commitments.

According to Glassdoor, 76% of jobseekers consider DEI policies before applying for a role. And it’s not just about employees, McKinsey have been tracking diversity and inclusion for over a decade now, and their most recent report shows beyond doubt the holistic impact of DEI hiring and practices on the financial performance of companies, stating that companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity are 39% more likely to financially outperform their peers.

Of course, DEI is an ethical issue, and the government’s belief in this has made it a compliance issue too – but its direct impact on attraction and retention makes a strong argument for businesses to ensure they fully embrace this new legislation. The right applicant tracking system transforms obligation into opportunity, supporting compliance, data reporting and audits, without overwhelming your hiring team.

What signs indicate your current recruitment process is introducing bias?

Good intentions aren’t enough. Achieving diversity through traditional recruitment isn’t always easy. Key moments in the hiring lifecycle can easily be swayed by unconscious bias. When this happens hiring methods become inconsistent and key compliance points can be missed or assumed taken care of by another.

If you’re not using modern ATS software solutions for your hiring, then watch out for these potential issues:

Risk of unconscious bias in shortlisting

Manual shortlisting is incredibly prone to bias: gender, age, ethnicity, university education, distance the candidate might have to travel… No matter how impartial we think we are, it’s nigh on impossible to see this level of information without forming some sort of opinion, positive or negative. There are so many different types of bias that creep into shortlisting (and interviewing), we’ve delved into this in depth in our AI interviews blog.

Inconsistent evaluation criteria between hiring managers

Every hiring manager will look at a candidate from a different perspective. And there’s huge value in those opinions. But if your hiring panel isn’t evaluating each candidate using the same criteria you can easily end up with an inconsistent and unfair process. Worse than that, the best candidates might well be slipping through your fingers.

Lack of visibility into where representation gaps exist

Capturing the right data and having it reported in a way that’s useful is crucial. If your team is gathering data, but not on every candidate, or if that data is stuck in spreadsheets, then it’s simply not offering the data visibility you need. Useful, consistent and well-presented data will clearly show representation gaps, as well as key hiring metrics such as drop-off rates or source of hire. That way you see not only where there are representation issues but can delve into where you’re losing candidates or work out how better to source them.

Difficulty measuring progress over time

Unless you’re a spreadsheet wizard, or perhaps even if you are a spreadsheet wizard, measuring progress over time is hard without the right systems. Consistent capture of the same metrics from every candidate over time gives teams an excellent baseline from which to assess where you’re doing well, and where things aren’t working so well. With the government’s new ‘action plans’ and pay gap reporting, baseline figures will become important for measuring and demonstrating progress over time. Starting now gets you ahead of the game.

Leadership mindset

Many recruiters are already working on diversity hiring, it’s been part of their practice for years. But embedding diversity throughout an organisation needs leadership teams to appreciate how well it can work when it’s embedded before day one, rather than bolted on at the end. From reporting to retention rates and representation, leadership teams can clearly see both the value and the progress when hiring data is collated in one place.

While to some this might feel like an increase in workload, ATS software solutions absorb a lot of the additional work that legislative changes incur. HR teams can apply rules across workflows and application forms at the click of a button, facilitate ‘blind’ screening and even language check ads and job descriptions for historical bias.

Ultimately, the right infrastructure is crucial to achieving diversity recruitment goals. If you’re not using up-to-date software, you’re essentially putting not just your candidates, but your compliance at risk. With the right applicant tracking software systems in place, organisations build a solid, consistent and unbiased process.

How can applicant tracking software improve fairness in shortlisting?

ATS software helps hiring teams reduce bias and support fairer, more consistent candidate evaluation. Used throughout the hiring process, it creates a level playing field and ensures compliance.

A few ways that an ATS supports a typical recruitment workflow:

1. At the point of attraction – AI-assistants check job advert language and job descriptions for neutral language. They can also be used to suggest content.
2. At screening – Anonymised or ‘blind’ shortlisting tools remove key identifiers to reduce bias. Many systems also now offer skills-based parsing tools; performing initial screenings and ranking candidates based on pre-defined criteria.
3. At shortlisting – Redacted applications and CVs are then forwarded to hiring managers, maintaining anonymity. Importantly, role-based permissions on the system mean that only the HR teams see candidates’ details at these early stages.
4. At evaluation – Structured candidate scorecards, standardised interview questions and guides and even AI-driven comparison tools provide a fair and consistent process.

It’s worth noting here that AI tools used in recruitment ATS software are assistive only. They can help reduce bias, protect sensitive candidate data, skills-match and rank applicants, but they do not make decisions. All selection criteria are set, and all decisions are made by humans.

This type of evidence-based selection also protects against tokenistic hiring. Every appointment is justifiable on merit, which is good for candidates, hiring teams and the organisation as a whole.

What DEI metrics should an organisation track within an ATS?

Simple applicant tracking software is hugely valuable for tracking DEI progress. Applicants’ diversity data, including ‘prefer not to say’ statistics, are captured by the system at the point of application, providing a comprehensive picture of representation.

ATS tracking software also provides comprehensive funnel visibility for DEI reporting – teams can compare the make-up of the applicant pool against shortlisted candidates and hired candidates, highlighting patterns, gaps and drop-off points. This information will help recruiters demonstrate that action plans are based on data, not assumption.

All actions and decisions are logged within the system, offering a complete, transparent history of each vacancy and appointment. Rather than spending days preparing for audits, modern ATS reporting features offer real-time data analysis with reports that can be generated at the click of a button. This takes huge pressure off recruiting teams by automating time-consuming processes, and provides clear, accurate reporting on diversity metrics.

What features make applicant tracking software DEI compliant?

The following list provides what we would consider to be the ‘must have’ practical tools your ATS software company should offer to support your DEI hiring.

• Anonymised blind screening capability
• Customisable application forms with secure DEI data capture
• Structured scoring and standardised interview tools
• AI-assisted job ad language review tools
• DEI reporting dashboards with funnel visibility
• Clear visualisation of hiring bottlenecks and representation gaps
• GDPR compliant data storage

It’s also worth considering if the ATS software solutions you’re considering will offer:

• Customisable workflows. Systems that are rigid and inflexible are harder to use. Look for a system that will allow you to personalise workflows to the way your team works without always relying on supplier intervention. Some systems are built bespoke, allowing you to design the system to suit your unique hiring process.
• Easy adoption. Systems that work not just for daily users, but also for hiring managers who might only use the software once every 18 months.
• Pricing that scales with organisation size. Good-quality software can also be affordable. Look at the pricing bands offered, consider user numbers and look for a system that will easily handle not just the peaks and troughs of your hiring across an average year, but also your potential business growth.
• Effortless integration with your existing tech and software. If your new recruitment ATS software cannot speak to all your existing tech, then it’s simply not worth having. Simple integrations allow you to have a comprehensive view of your hiring, and your workforce – vital for DEI reporting and action plans. Easy, secure transfer of candidate data to your existing HR and payroll isn’t just about data and reporting, it’s about security too.

Why choose Reach ATS?

Reach ATS is a flexible, intuitive system that ticks every box on these lists. Our software is custom-built around your hiring workflows, supporting your DEI hiring and compliance while integrating effortlessly with all your existing HR software. Read about our DEI tools.

Using your data currency

Diversity hiring doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by design. New employment legislation means it’s more important than ever to have complete visibility of your hiring and employment data.

Applicant tracking software captures the data your team needs at every stage of the hiring process. It embeds diversity hiring into your recruitment workflows, helping you plan your future workforce, address bottlenecks and representation gaps, and hire fairly and consistently. More than a simple reporting tool, an ATS provides valuable baselines, helps teams develop action plans, and demonstrates progress over time.

If you’d like to know how Reach ATS can help with your diversity recruitment, why not talk to our knowledgeable team? Reach out and book a demo today.