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