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