How Checkout.com’s inclusive language work inspires real behavioral change

In continuation of the Textio Awards celebration, we are back this week with a spotlight on the 2022 Textio Inspiration Award runner-up: Checkout.com!

As a fast-growing payment company, it is key to Checkout.com’s ability to develop successful solutions to reflect the diversity of its customers in its own workforce. Not only do diverse teams help this leading fintech organization stay creative, but a range of perspectives allows them to better anticipate and plan for risk. Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Pousaz says it best: “Broader perspectives lead to better solutions.”

It’s this type of ethos from leadership that ensures the work that Checkout.com does in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) continues to make forward progress. Over the last year, Checkout.com has come to understand that language can be the start of large organizational changes—that words can be the first step toward action.

Textio Inspiration Award judges were drawn to Checkout.com’s commitment to making lasting internal changes. Cherrie Rhodes, Checkout.com’s customer success manager at Textio, explains, “Checkout.com has infused inclusion into everything that they do. From our first meeting, it was clear that they understood that DEIB is a marathon, and not a sprint, and that Textio is one piece of the broader puzzle.”

Let’s take a closer look at how Checkout.com applied learnings with Textio to shape their approach to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

It starts with intentional language

A part of Checkout.com’s strategy to attracting a more diverse talent pool was overhauling their job descriptions with Textio. From the start, they understood that the language candidates read in job posts shapes whether or not they can picture themselves in the role and at the company. Checkout.com aimed to write with engaging and inclusive language to appeal to all people, regardless of their background.

Since rolling out Textio nearly a year ago, Checkout.com has made massive improvements to their average Textio Score. This change was possible because of the high bar that was set from the start: all job posts had to be written with Textio before being posted live. Their average Textio Score for public job posts is nearly 80 today, positioning them well above direct competitors which is essential in today’s hiring landscape.

Checkout.com has also increased their use of Textio for Recruiting Mail, quadrupling the number of mails sent with Textio in less than six months. The more recruiters write with Textio, the more they see the value it brings to them, and the candidate on the receiving end. The team writes their website copy and social media posts in Textio for Employer Brand as well to ensure a connected experience for those engaging with the brand online.

A catalyst for behavioral change

Beyond the tangible and quantitative data, Textio brought a shift in how Checkout.com approaches content creation. Textio’s guidance prompts discussions around things like why having a growth mindset is important, and educates individuals on how impactful the words they choose can be. For Checkout.com, this type of success is more difficult to measure but absolutely essential in the long term. In their words, “We see Textio not only as a tool to write inclusively but also as a catalyst for behavioral change.”

To complement the work Checkout.com is doing to improve the candidate process, they have launched multiple new programs with the goal of transforming the employee experience. In the last year, they have developed partnerships with organizations such as SheCanCode, the Black Young Professional Network, Evenbreak, and myGwork so that employees from underrepresented groups feel supported. They’ve also made it a point to take part in events like International Women's Day, a virtual cook-along for Eid, a paint with Pride event, and Black History Month LinkedIn Lives.

Checkout.com also offers unconscious bias and inclusion training to all employees. This allows the business to truly embed these learnings into daily practice alongside the Textio platform. According to Jackye Clayton, VP of Talent and DEI at Textio, when a company is looking to hire a diverse workforce, it is not just about recruiting and hiring people from different backgrounds. It also means using inclusive language showing candidates and current employees that there is an environment where all employees should expect to feel included. And that’s what Checkout.com is doing through the development of these programs and the use of Textio.

A talent acquisition manager at Checkout.com explains, “Textio gives us confidence that we are doing the right things by enabling us to continue learning on a daily basis and be better prepared for the constantly changing talent market.”

Congratulations, Checkout.com! We applaud you for the work you are doing to transform both the candidate and employee experiences for the better.