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