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