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 a of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, you have finance people, you technologists. So I’m going to start with a really easy question: what was it to manage this diverse workforce through a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a 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. And as leader, you obviously — you have a workforce that’s looking for certainty, and they’re to control what’s happening around them. And I think we all found, as leaders, no matter what company were … responsible for, was that you couldn’t offer certainty, you couldn’t always control the environment and the things you. And so, you know, for me, it was about agility. How do we stay flexible as a team? How do we 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 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 in Ukraine … employees who are on the front lines, who are literally at war. the other hand, you have people in different parts the world who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so I it was really just — the hardest part was not being able to give everyone certainty, 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, and to lead humanity, you have to trust each other. And so, I’m sort of optimistic that actually we’re from this time with a culture that is more flexible nimble, and also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: Can you an example of something that you put into place, perhaps during pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust or create greater sense of community or even to 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 talk about video, but I this sincerely — one of the hardest parts, when you’re sort of disparate, is you lose context and you lose nuance you communicate. And we did make a concerted effort to move away email and chat, text-based communication, as much as possible, actually try, particularly for our leadership team, when we communicating, to do it with your face, and your hands your body and your emotions. And we did that through live streaming lot of communications, recording a lot of videos. We sent video messages. So I send … I record my screen and just send a note out to people. new hire does a video to welcome and introduce themselves. A of our meetings we’ve actually replaced with just quick video presentations. And actually, what that did was allow the humanity and the context to through and I think that helped us a lot to, of, stay close. So that was one, I think, really thing.
Another important thing is, I think, just creating mechanisms to make it easier to talk about 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 at Vimeo is we try — I do this all of my town halls, we do it in lot of meetings — is always talk about what’s working, are our 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 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, what do we need to pivot. both of those, being more video-first in our communication and more transparent and normalizing what’s not working, I think been really helpful, and certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I that advice about being video-first. So many of our of our workforce live in a video world. They’re used to as a means of communication. Which brings me to next question. You’ve talked about how the organization has changed. How do you see the workforce changing? is different with the young millennials, and even, now, the first wave Gen Z coming into the workplace?
AS: I think it’s incredibly different. And, you know, one of 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 and a totally different generation. I see a lot of differences. One of them, I think, is line between your personal life and work life is blending. … If you think about your personal life — look at TikTok. generation is used to consuming content, learning, engaging, in a very specific way. And if then have to come to work and to be trained on a job, read a 300-page manual? Like, it’s not to 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 sort of this — you know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” Those just fancy words for saying the way … we 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 the generation, the newest generation coming into the workforce, is 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 the “what” without “why.” And I think there’s a desire to — idea that, well, there’s a hierarchy, or “My boss told me that this is we’re going to do” or — that, I think, is moving away, and people, they don’t just want to do something because someone with formal authority told to do it. They want to do it because they understand 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 of the things I see, and then, you know, the third I think just flexibility. I think — and this is true of all of us, particularly the younger generation — I think they’re looking for and they want options and choices. And it’s not always easy and feasible to provide flexibility, but this is where I try and orient it more agility. How can we have approaches and principles and be committed to things, but also when to question, and when to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share a few examples ways that you at Vimeo have tried to really be proactive when it comes addressing or understanding what your next generation of employees going to want, either in terms of purpose or in terms of or in terms of flexibility? Are there programs or processes you’ve put in place that really speak to this big 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 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 that we’ve done, have a people and culture NPS, net promoter score, the way 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 inputs from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look at the averages. You can’t look at it all totality and try and pull out an obvious “Oh, is how everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — when you really dig into it truly listen and do focus groups and talk to people — you’ll find is actually there’s very different experiences and desires your employees. And so, I think for us, what we’ve really tried to do is have a bunch of different mechanisms and then resist the urge to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, this is what everyone’s feeling, let’s just do thing as the action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still kind of figuring it out, but I will you, some of the things that we’ve heard from employees have changed our approach to hybrid work or or 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 treating everything as, like, an average or the same. And us, it’s been particularly stark because we have offices and teams so many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the way solve different things. And we used to have a very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global in the name of consistency and fairness, and what we is we have to be more localized. We really do. We have to design mechanisms to support teams in a very different way, because their experiences and the around them is quite different.
So I think that’s definitely been one, and I will tell you, has involved a lot of — as an executive and leadership team — it’s involved a lot of trying things, it working, and changing them. And a great example is Q and A. I feel like every leader I know has perspective on whether they do open Q and A or anonymous Q and A, or real-time Q A. We’ve changed our approach there multiple times, and know we will again, because we’re still figuring out the way to listen and have a dialogue with a very workforce.
SM: I want to stay on newcomers to the workplace just another moment, because another thing I hear from CEOs of generation and older is a concern about making sure that we are just providing our youngest employees with the flexibility and the purpose that they need, but also the and the wisdom that comes, oftentimes, from being in close proximity to a mentor or to who’s done the job for many more years. What is your philosophy take on making sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: think it’s a major challenge that I don’t know everyone will sort of have a solution for. I think that all the time. We have a very distributed at Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. My executive team entirely distributed. So I’ve really realized the benefits of being able to have a distributed workforce 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 that are entering workforce. So I think it’s a challenge. One of approaches that we’ve been taking, and what’s sort of nice, is we’re modeling it at the top. So if 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 have just joined. We have sort of changed up the team almost entirely in the last twelve months. So I’ve had to deal with the same challenges. And we’ve to literally — we call it our operating system — we’ve to design 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, my perspective, it’s more we have 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 believe that in-person collaboration really important for learning. We do have — we bring into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks to in and spend time in a room with their team, 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 area that I don’t think we’ve really figured out 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 that you mentioned at the very beginning of our conversation, video, can be really helpful there. I’ve heard of a of organizations that have really encouraged their young people to present, as a 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 to their ideas with a large group of people, but first, kind of going through the fact-finding and research, and then sharing their ideas. In an earlier comment, you a little bit about mental illness and the different things that people bringing to work, whether it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During Black Lives Matter protests, we had a lot of coming to the office feeling trauma, and feeling really personal issues bubble to surface. I’m wondering if you can share a little bit about how you deal with this personal — you know, when people bring their whole selves to 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 their best work. And so, of course, we have a real role to play in supporting like mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the way think, like many companies, the way we initially probably sought to do was more, you know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting by trying to provide mental-health or support or time off. And, I think — and empathy, empathy. I think that’s really important. And I always say, to many of our managers … just care. If we just care, a lot of things get easier. don’t have to design a hundred mechanisms if you just the right people in place who care. At the same time, will say what we’re realizing now, in sort of next phase, is that that’s a reactive approach and actually root cause — that we can control at Vimeo — the root of a lot of stress and burnout is sometimes people don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking people to do too many things they don’t feel like 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 some there, right? There’s a root cause there that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m stressed because there’s too much on. I don’t feel equipped to solve it.” Then, we should get into the “What the detail there, and do we need to do differently?” And, you know, one of our themes at Vimeo this was “Do less, better.”
SM: As the economy starts to, maybe, sideways, do you think that there are going to be who say, you know, “Out with all of this touchy-feely, the workplace-as-a-family stuff. Where are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the has already swung pretty clearly. I mean, I work SAS, software as a service, so we already went “growth at all cost” to “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. My perspective 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 results. And so, you know, for me, I think what I observed over the last few is — that part, I 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 or we felt pressured. And that’s not going to be sustainable. that’s not what — ultimately, that’s not what people need, any case. So, you know, I sort of see as — the way you channel how you are caring towards 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 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 care of yourself during this period of tremendous turmoil change, but also growth? You mentioned you just had a baby. There’s lot on your shoulders. How, as a leader, do you some self-care or how do you make sure that you’re getting the balance you need to be the most 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 height the pandemic and last year, market volatility has been tremendous. You know, we’re going through a ton with post-pandemic, we have a team Ukraine going through a war — all these things that have happened. so, it’s a hard job, and it’s an incredibly privileged job. It’s gift, right? And so, I think for me, it’s sort acknowledging both of those things has helped me a lot. way I’ve tried to kind of lead, has been — it’s always been 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 of move through anything. I have to find joy my team. I feel like, especially in hard times, I look at my career and actually, some of my most fulfilling times in work were when — in the business situations. But it’s because it brought a group of people all on one team, and so I think that’s been, know, a really big part of it. And then, yeah, like, have to be a little selfish sometimes, and take of yourself. And I am really fortunate. I think I a great support network around me and I do … husband and I have a deal, where on Sundays, I disappear for a couple hours. I just disappear and I walk around the city and I listen to my music and do I need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: So you talked about how hybrid work is going look very different in the future than how we describe it today. It’s basically in office couple of days, work from home a couple of other days. Tell us little bit more about what you could potentially see evolving into.
AS: I think the idea of an office as a and place completely goes away. And I think it’s going to be people are going to want to work from anywhere, in the world. Even the concept of where you’re located going to change. And then the idea of like “I’m going work on this time zone” or “I’m going to attend this that’s scheduled on this date” — I think that’s going go away. And I think what you’re going to find is and more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going to done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously and we will be using tools and technology — 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 going to different. Because I think it’s going to require — if you about the skill set to be a global CEO 30 ago versus what that will require now — I in the future … the skill set is going to be like, “How do communicate with diverse, global audiences and employees across time in a way that is 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 we’ve lived with, whether it was time or place budget, in some cases. And I think those constraints going to go away. And the promise is that we are flexible and smart and we use technology the right way, that we’ll actually come away a much more evolved efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I think you just showed us some the passion that you’ve talked about as being the thing gives you energy to lead that organization of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, you so much for being here today.
AS: Thank you. was great.