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