Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so you’re here with us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is great to here.
SM: At Vimeo, you lead a workforce of 1,300 worldwide — you have creatives, you have finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going start with a really easy question: what was it like to manage this diverse workforce through global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. You know, I think the constant has been change. And as a leader, you obviously — you have workforce that’s looking for certainty, and they’re looking to what’s happening around them. And I think what we all found, as leaders, matter what company you were … responsible for, was that you couldn’t offer certainty, you couldn’t always control the environment and the things you. And so, you know, for me, it was really agility. How do we stay flexible as a team? How do we communicate in real time keep people informed as we try and move through things? And then, also just do we lead with more humanity? You know, for Vimeo, one of the things I’ve really learned over the few years is we each experience the world so differently. We have employees are remote. We have an incredible team in Ukraine … employees are on the front lines, who are literally at war. the other hand, you have people in different parts of world who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so I think was really just — the hardest part was not being able to give everyone certainty, not being to just apply a one-size-fits-all rule for everyone. But I ultimately think it forced us, as a company, build more trust, because to be agile and flexible, and to lead with humanity, you have to each other. And so, I’m sort of optimistic that actually we’re from this time with a culture that is more and nimble, and also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: Can give an example of something that you put into place, perhaps during pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust or create a greater sense of community or even to that there is no certainty, that is a muscle that you think you’ll continue to use the organization far into the future?
AS: There’s a couple of things we did. One — and we are a video platform, so I have to talk about video, but I mean this sincerely — one of the parts, when you’re all sort of disparate, is you lose context and you lose when you communicate. And we did make a concerted effort to move away from email chat, text-based communication, as much as possible, and actually try, particularly for our leadership team, we were communicating, to do it with your face, your hands and your body and your emotions. And we that through live streaming a lot of communications, recording a of videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. So I send … I record my screen just send a note out to people. Every new hire a video to welcome and introduce themselves. A lot our meetings we’ve actually replaced with just quick video presentations. actually, what that really did was allow the humanity and context to come through and I think that helped a lot to, kind of, stay close. So that one, I think, really important thing.
Another important thing is, I think, just creating mechanisms to make it to talk about when things aren’t working, because a critical part of being agile is recognizing we an area that isn’t working. And so one of the things that we at Vimeo is we try — I do this in all of town halls, we do it in a lot of — is always talk about what’s working, what are our top things, and what isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind of created, I think, a framework sort of takes the stigma away from talking about what’s not working. And when you make that and comfortable for people, I feel like it’s allowed us be more open, as an organization, about what do need to change, what do we need to pivot. And both of those, more video-first in our communication and being more transparent and normalizing what’s not working, I has been really helpful, and certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: love that advice about being video-first. So many of our of our workforce live in a video world. They’re used video as a means of communication. Which brings me to my next question. You’ve about how the organization has changed. How do you the workforce changing? What is different with the young millennials, and even, now, the first wave of Gen Z into the workplace?
AS: I think it’s incredibly different. And, you know, one of things that we think about at Vimeo a lot is a lot of the mechanisms and communication that we still use today, they’re really antiquated. They were designed for a totally different environment a totally different generation. But I see a lot differences. One of them, I think, is the line between your personal life and life is definitely blending. … If you think about your personal life — look at TikTok. generation is used to consuming content, learning, engaging, in a specific way. And if they then have to come work and to be trained on a job, read 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going to happen, right? Or if you miss the meeting, and you have watch the Zoom recording of a three-hour meeting — that’s not going to happen. And so I think that there definitely sort of this — you know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” are just fancy words for saying the way … we communicate and interact in our personal lives going to translate to work. And so I definitely that’s an area of opportunity.
The other thing I see from of the generation, the newest generation coming into the workforce, sort of, of course mission-driven, but I think there’s desire to really understand the “why” behind things. And of our communication mantras is we never talk about the “what” without the “why.” And I there’s a desire to — the idea that, well, there’s a hierarchy, or “My boss told me that is what we’re going to do” or — that, I think, is increasingly away, and people, they don’t just want to do something someone with formal authority told them to do it. want to do it because they understand why it matters, why ties to the mission. And I think that that forces leaders to bring more of the “why” into how we communicate and motivate people.
So those two of the things I see, and then, you know, the third I is just flexibility. I think — and this is true of of us, but particularly the younger generation — I think they’re looking flexibility and they want options and choices. And it’s not always easy and feasible to provide flexibility, but this is where I try and orient it to agility. How can we have approaches and principles and be to things, but also know when to question, and to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share a few examples of ways that you at have tried to really be proactive when it comes addressing or understanding what your next generation of employees are going to want, either in terms of purpose in terms of benefits or in terms of flexibility? Are there programs processes you’ve put in place that really speak to this big sea change we’re seeing in of values from the workforce?
AS: Firstly, of course, it’s all about listening, right? And think, like many organizations, the way we’ve tried to listen and our workforce is very similar: it’s Q and As engagement surveys, and things like that. And some of the things that we’ve done, have a people and culture NPS, net promoter score, the way we have for our users, for our internal teams. But I say one of the things that we’ve really tried to do is appreciate that when we get inputs our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look at the averages. You can’t look it all in totality and try and pull out an obvious “Oh, this is everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — when you really dig into and truly listen and do focus groups and talk to people — what you’ll is actually there’s very different experiences and desires among your employees. And so, I think us, what we’ve really just tried to do is a bunch of different listening mechanisms and then resist urge to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, this is what everyone’s feeling, let’s just do this thing as the action.” it’s hard, and we’re still kind of figuring it out, but I will tell you, some of the things we’ve heard from employees have changed our approach to work or travel or even things like our approach compensation or our approach to DE and I. So think it’s more just like I said, that agile listening, constantly really what’s happening, but not treating everything as, like, an average the same. And for us, it’s been particularly stark we have offices and teams in so many different countries the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the way we different things. And we used to have a very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global in the name of consistency and fairness, and what we found is we have to be localized. We really do. We have to design mechanisms support our teams in a very different way, because their experiences and the world them is quite different.
So I think that’s definitely been one, I will tell you, it has involved a lot — as an executive team and leadership team — it’s involved a lot of trying things, it working, and changing them. And a great example is our Q and A. I feel every leader I know has a perspective on whether they do open Q and A or anonymous and A, or real-time Q and A. We’ve changed approach there multiple times, and I know we will again, because we’re still figuring the right way to listen and have a dialogue with a diverse workforce.
SM: I want to stay on newcomers to the workplace for another moment, because another thing I hear from CEOs of my generation older is a concern about making sure that we are just providing our youngest employees with the flexibility and the purpose that they need, but also the training the wisdom that comes, oftentimes, from being in close proximity a mentor or to somebody who’s done the job for many more years. What is your and take on making sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: I it’s a major challenge that I don’t know that everyone sort of have a solution for. I think about all the time. We have a very distributed workforce Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. My executive team entirely distributed. So I’ve really realized the benefits of being able to have a workforce and being able to attract talent and just be more inclusive. On the side, there’s definitely, I think, a lack of the same kinds of learning and mentorship, particularly for the youngest folks that are entering the workforce. I think it’s a challenge. One of the approaches we’ve been taking, and what’s sort of nice, is we’re modeling it at the top. So my entire executive team is distributed, that means I to learn how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship and for a whole set of new executives who have just joined. We have sort of changed up executive team almost entirely in the last twelve months. So I’ve had to deal with the challenges. And we’ve had to literally — we call our operating system — we’ve had to design an operating system, as an team, for how we’re going to work together in that environment. How do share real-time feedback? How do we create the right communication loops? so I think, from my perspective, it’s more we have to able to do it ourselves and model it and then, think it’s a more proven mechanism for young people. I will say, like many … I do believe that in-person collaboration is really important learning. We do have — we bring people into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks come in and spend time in a room with team, do social activities, all of those things. I don’t think they go away, nor do I think they should. But, you know, candidly, it’s an area that don’t think we’ve really figured out perfectly and I think it’s critical that as leaders, we do that, so that this generation is able to get the same growth opportunities that we had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — the tools that you mentioned at the very of our conversation, around video, can be really helpful there. I’ve heard of number of organizations that have really encouraged their young people present, as a way of having to go out and find the information they need. And then, because have video tools available to us now, you know, they an opportunity to share their ideas with a large group people, but first, kind of going through the fact-finding the research, and then sharing their ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked a bit about mental illness and the different things that people are bringing to work, whether it is, know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives Matter protests, we had a lot people coming to the office feeling trauma, and feeling really personal bubble to the surface. I’m wondering if you can share little bit about how you deal with this increasing — you know, when people bring their whole selves the office, which we encourage, sometimes, they bring things, of themselves that are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always thought the responsibility of a is to empower people to do their best work and responsibility of a company is to empower our people do their best work. And so, of course, we have a real role to in supporting things like mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the way I think, many companies, the way we initially probably sought to do that was more, know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting by trying to provide mental-health resources support or time off. And, I think — and empathy, just empathy. I think that’s really important. I always say, to so many of our managers … care. If we just care, a lot of things get easier. You don’t have to design a hundred if you just have the right people in place who care. At the same time, will say what we’re realizing now, in sort of next phase, is that that’s a reactive approach and actually the root — that we can control at Vimeo — the root cause of lot of stress and burnout is sometimes people either don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking people do too many things or they don’t feel like they’re supported in doing things. And that, I think, is actually where we be spending more time — is how do we actually set the right prioritization and focus. There’s issue there, right? There’s a root cause there that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m because there’s too much going on. I don’t feel equipped solve it.” Then, we should get into the “What is detail there, and do we need to do things differently?” And, you know, one our themes at Vimeo this year was “Do less, better.”
SM: As the economy starts to, maybe, sideways, do you think that there are going to be stakeholders who say, know, “Out with all of this touchy-feely, the workplace-as-a-family stuff. Where are results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the pendulum has already swung pretty clearly. I mean, I in SAS, software as a service, so we already from “growth at all cost” to “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. My perspective on this — and hasn’t changed — I think the best leaders and cultures deliver results and treat well. And I actually think, if you treat people well, with kindness and empathy, will get better results. And so, you know, for me, I think what I observed over the last few is — that part, I think, hasn’t changed and shouldn’t change. There were, I think, a of times when companies, we did things because maybe it lip service or we felt pressured. And that’s not going be sustainable. But that’s not what — ultimately, that’s not people need, in any case. So, you know, I sort of see it as — way you channel how you are caring towards your employees and you are empathetic, always should be in service of helping people do their best work, will deliver results, which will be good for the bottom line. you have to believe that. You have to be committed to that and if use that consistently in your decision-making, it should not a trade-off. These are not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, how have been taking care of yourself during this period of turmoil and change, but also growth? You mentioned you just had a baby. There’s a lot on shoulders. How, as a leader, do you practice some self-care or do you make sure that you’re getting the balance you need to be the most effective leader can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase use a lot to myself is “two things can be true, can be true.” I say this a lot. And for me, think of it as, like, “This job is hard, and it’s harder.” We went public at the height of the and last year, market volatility has been tremendous. You know, we’re going through a ton with post-pandemic, we have a team in Ukraine through a war — all these things that have happened. so, it’s a hard job, and it’s an incredibly job. It’s a gift, right? And so, I think me, it’s sort of acknowledging both of those things has helped a lot. The way I’ve tried to kind of lead, been — it’s always been this way, which is, for me, it’s I have to passion. I have to have passion. I have to believe deeply that what Vimeo is doing is important and for the world. And if I have passion, I have energy then I will — I can kind of move through anything. I have to joy in my team. I feel like, especially in times, I look back at my career and actually, some of my most fulfilling in work were when — in the hardest business situations. But it’s because it brought a of people together all on one team, and so I that’s been, you know, a really big part of it. And then, yeah, like, have to be a little selfish sometimes, and take care of yourself. And I really fortunate. I think I have a great support network me and I do … My husband and I a deal, where on Sundays, I disappear for a couple of hours. I just disappear and walk around the city and I listen to my music and do I need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: So you talked about how hybrid work is going look very different in the future than how we describe it today. It’s basically in office a of days, work from home a couple of other days. Tell a little bit more about what you could potentially that evolving into.
AS: I think the idea of office as a time and place completely goes away. And I it’s really going to be people are going to to work from anywhere, anywhere in the world. Even the concept of where you’re located is going change. And then the idea of like “I’m going to work on this time zone” “I’m going to attend this meeting that’s scheduled on this date” — think that’s going to go away. And I think what you’re going to find is more more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going to done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously and we will be using tools and — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to basically enable at scale among many people, anywhere in the world. And then I leadership, leaders are going to look different. Because I think it’s going to require — if think about the skill set to be a global CEO 30 years ago versus that will require now — I think in the future … the skill set going to be like, “How do you communicate with diverse, audiences and employees across time zones in a way that effective, that provides context and alignment at scale? How do you organize programs, it’s compensation, whether it’s, you know, training?” All of is going to look very different. But I think ultimate thing you’ll see is just … there were these constraints we’ve lived with, whether it was time or place budget, in some cases. And I think those constraints are going to away. And the promise is that if we are and smart and we use technology in the right way, that we’ll actually away a much more evolved and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I you just showed us some of the passion that you’ve talked about as being the thing gives you energy to lead that organization of 1,300 worldwide. Anjali, thank you so much for being here today.
AS: you. This was great.