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 a workforce of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, have finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going to start with a really easy question: was it like to manage this diverse workforce through a global pandemic, a reckoning and a very fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. You know, think the only constant has been change. And as a leader, obviously — you have a workforce that’s looking for certainty, they’re looking to control what’s happening around them. And I think what we all found, leaders, no matter what company you were … responsible for, was that you couldn’t certainty, and you couldn’t always control the environment and things around you. And so, you know, for me, it was really 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 lead with more humanity? You know, for Vimeo, one of the things I’ve learned over the last few years is we each experience the so differently. We have employees who are remote. We 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 world who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so I think was really just — the hardest part was not being to give 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 more 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 trust create a greater sense of community or even to communicate that there is certainty, that is a muscle that you think you’ll continue to in the organization far into the future?
AS: There’s a couple of that we did. One — and we are a video platform, so I obviously have to talk video, but I mean this sincerely — one of the parts, when you’re all sort of disparate, is you lose and you lose nuance when you communicate. And we did a concerted effort to move away from email and chat, text-based communication, much as possible, and actually try, particularly for our team, when we were communicating, to do it with face, and your hands and your body and your emotions. 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 and send a note out to people. Every new hire a video to welcome and introduce themselves. A lot of our meetings we’ve actually replaced just quick video presentations. And actually, what that really was allow 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, important thing.
Another important thing is, I think, just creating mechanisms to make it easier to talk when things aren’t working, because a critical part of being agile is recognizing we have an area isn’t working. And so one of the things that we do Vimeo is we try — I do this in all my town halls, we do it in a lot of meetings — is always about what’s working, what are our top three things, and isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind of created, I think, framework that sort of takes the stigma away from about what’s not working. And when you make that and comfortable for people, I feel like it’s allowed us to be open, as an 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 forward.
SM: I love that advice about being video-first. So many of our members our workforce live in a video world. They’re used to video a means of communication. Which brings me to my next question. You’ve talked about how the organization changed. How do you see the workforce changing? What is different the young millennials, and even, now, the first wave of Gen Z into the workplace?
AS: I 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 environment and a totally different generation. But I see lot of differences. One of them, I think, is the between your personal life and work life is definitely blending. … If you think about your personal — look at TikTok. This generation is used to consuming content, learning, engaging, a very specific way. And if they then have to to work and to be trained on a job, read 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going to happen, right? Or if miss the meeting, and you have to watch the Zoom of a three-hour meeting — that’s just not going to happen. And so think that there is definitely sort of this — know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” Those are just fancy words for saying the … we communicate and interact in our personal lives is going to translate work. And so I definitely think that’s an area of opportunity.
The thing I see from sort of the generation, the newest generation coming the workforce, is sort of, of course mission-driven, but I think there’s a desire to really the “why” behind things. And one of our communication mantras is 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 me that this is what we’re going to do” — that, I think, is increasingly moving away, and people, they don’t just to do something because someone with formal authority told to do it. They want to do it because understand why it matters, why it ties to the mission. And I think 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, and then, know, the third I think is just flexibility. I think — this is true of all of us, but particularly the generation — I think they’re looking for flexibility and want options and choices. And it’s not always easy and to provide ultimate flexibility, but this is where I and orient it more to agility. How can we have approaches and principles and be committed things, but also know when to question, and when to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, you share a few examples of ways that you at Vimeo tried to really be proactive when it comes to addressing or understanding what next generation of employees are going to want, either in terms of purpose or terms of benefits or in terms of flexibility? Are there programs or you’ve put in place that really speak to this big sea change we’re seeing in terms values from the workforce?
AS: Firstly, of course, it’s all about listening, right? And I think, many organizations, the way we’ve tried to listen and understand our is very similar: it’s Q and As and engagement surveys, and like that. And some of the things that we’ve done, we a people and culture NPS, net promoter score, the same way have for our users, for our internal teams. But I would say one the 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. can’t look at it all in totality and try pull out an obvious “Oh, this is how everybody’s feeling.” Because you actually — when you really dig into it and truly listen and do focus and talk to people — what you’ll find is there’s very different experiences and desires among your employees. so, I think for us, what we’ve really just tried 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 thing as action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still kind of it out, but I will tell you, some of 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 and I. So I think it’s more just like I said, that agile listening, constantly understanding what’s happening, but not treating everything as, like, an or the same. And for us, it’s been particularly because we have offices and teams in so many different 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 found is we have be more localized. We really do. We have to design mechanisms to support our teams a very different way, because their experiences and the world them is quite different.
So I think that’s definitely been one, and I will you, it has involved a lot of — as an team and leadership team — it’s involved a lot of trying things, not working, and changing them. And a great example 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 and A, real-time Q and A. We’ve changed our approach there multiple times, and know we will again, because we’re still figuring out the right way to and have a dialogue with a very diverse workforce.
SM: I want to stay newcomers to the workplace for just another moment, because another thing I from CEOs of my generation and older is 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 sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: I think it’s a major that I don’t know that everyone will sort of have solution for. I think about that all the time. have a very distributed workforce at Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. My executive is entirely distributed. So I’ve really realized the benefits of able to have a distributed workforce and being able to attract talent and just be 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 I think it’s a challenge. One the approaches that we’ve been taking, and what’s sort of nice, we’re modeling it at the 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 have joined. We have sort of changed up the executive team almost entirely in the last twelve months. I’ve had to deal with the same challenges. And we’ve had to literally — we call it operating system — we’ve had to design an operating system, as an executive team, for we’re going to work together in that environment. How do share real-time feedback? How do we create the right loops? And so I think, from my perspective, it’s more 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 … I do believe that in-person collaboration is really important for learning. We have — we bring people into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks to come in and time in a 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, you know, candidly, it’s area that I don’t think we’ve really figured out perfectly I think it’s really critical that as leaders, we do that, so that this next generation is able to get same growth opportunities that we all had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — tools that you mentioned at the very beginning of our conversation, video, can be really helpful there. I’ve heard of a number of organizations that have really encouraged young people to present, as a way of having go out and find the information they need. And then, 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 of going through the fact-finding and the research, and sharing their ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked a little bit about illness and the different things that people are bringing to work, it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives protests, we had a lot of people coming to the office trauma, and feeling really personal issues bubble to the surface. I’m wondering if you can share a little about how you deal with this increasing personal — you know, when people bring their whole selves to office, which we encourage, sometimes, they bring things, parts of themselves are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always thought the of a leader is to empower people to do best work and the responsibility of a company is to empower our people to do their work. And so, of course, we have a real to play in supporting things like mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the way I think, many companies, the way we initially probably sought to that was more, you know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting by trying to mental-health resources or support or time off. And, I think — and empathy, just empathy. I that’s really important. And I always say, to so many of our managers … just care. we just care, a lot of things get easier. You don’t have to design a hundred mechanisms if just have the right people in place who care. 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 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 to do too many things or they don’t feel they’re supported in doing those things. And that, I think, is actually where should be spending more time — is how do we set the right prioritization and focus. There’s some issue there, right? There’s root cause there that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m stressed there’s too much going on. I don’t feel equipped to it.” Then, we should get into the “What is the detail there, and do we need do things differently?” And, you know, one of our themes at Vimeo this year “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 my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the pendulum has already swung pretty clearly. mean, I work in SAS, software as a service, we already went from “growth at all cost” to “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. My perspective on this — and hasn’t changed — I think the best leaders and deliver results and treat people well. And I actually think, you treat people well, with kindness and empathy, you will better results. And so, you know, for me, I think what I observed over the few years is — that part, I think, hasn’t changed 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. that’s not what — ultimately, that’s not what people need, in any case. So, you know, I sort of it as — the way you channel how you caring towards your employees and how you are empathetic, should be in service of helping people do their best work, which will deliver results, which will good for the bottom line. And you have to that. You have to be committed to that and if you use consistently in your decision-making, it should not be a trade-off. These are not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, have you been taking care of yourself during this period of 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 do make sure that you’re getting the balance you need to be the most effective you can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase use a lot to myself is “two things can be true, both be true.” I say this a lot. And for me, think of it as, like, “This job is hard, and it’s harder.” We went public at the height of the pandemic and year, market volatility has been tremendous. You know, we’re going through a ton with post-pandemic, we have a in Ukraine going through a war — all these things 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 of lead, has been — it’s always been this way, which is, me, it’s I have to have passion. I have to passion. I have to believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing important and matters for the world. And if I have passion, I have energy then I will — I can kind of move through anything. I have to joy in my team. I feel like, especially in hard times, I look at my career and actually, some of my most fulfilling times 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 really big of it. And then, yeah, like, you have to be a little 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, 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 talked about how hybrid work is going to look very in the future than how we describe it today. It’s in office a couple of days, work from home a of other days. Tell us a little bit more about you could potentially see that evolving into.
AS: I think the idea of an office as a time and place goes away. And I think it’s really going to be people are 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 to work this time zone” or “I’m going to attend this meeting that’s scheduled on date” — I think that’s going to go away. And I think what you’re going find is more and more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going to be done anywhere, anytime. Communication collaboration will happen asynchronously and we will be using tools and technology — 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 to — if you think about the skill set to be 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, global audiences and employees across time zones a way that is effective, that provides context and alignment scale? How do you organize programs, whether it’s compensation, it’s, you know, training?” All of that is going to very different. But 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, in cases. And I think those constraints are going to go away. And promise is that if we are flexible and smart and we use technology the right way, that we’ll actually come away a much more evolved and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, think you just showed us some of the passion that you’ve talked about being the thing that 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.