Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so glad 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, you finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going to with a really easy question: what was it like to manage diverse workforce through a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught to office?
AS: Oh, it was a breeze, Stephanie. No, was really challenging. You know, I think the only constant has change. And as a 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 what we all found, as leaders, no matter company you were … 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 informed as we and move through things? And then, also just how do we lead more humanity? You know, for Vimeo, one of the things I’ve really over the last few years is we each experience the world differently. We have employees who are remote. We have an incredible team in Ukraine … who are on the front lines, who are literally at war. On the hand, you have people in different parts of the who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so I it 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 for everyone. But ultimately think it forced us, as a company, to build more trust, because to be agile and flexible, and lead with humanity, you have to trust each other. so, I’m sort of optimistic that actually we’re emerging from this with a culture that is more flexible and nimble, also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: Can you give an example something that you put into place, perhaps during the pandemic, to enhance communications or build or 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 couple of things that we did. One — and we are a video platform, I obviously have to talk about video, but I mean this sincerely — one the hardest parts, when you’re all sort of disparate, you lose context and you lose nuance when you communicate. And we did make concerted effort to move away from email and chat, text-based communication, as much possible, and actually try, particularly for our leadership team, when we were communicating, to do it your face, and your hands and your body and your emotions. And we did that through live streaming a of communications, recording a lot of videos. We sent video messages. So I send … I record my screen and just send a note out people. Every new hire does a video to welcome introduce themselves. A lot of our meetings we’ve actually with just quick video presentations. And actually, what that really did was allow humanity and the context to come through and I 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 creating to make it easier to talk about when things aren’t working, because a part of being agile is recognizing we have an area that isn’t working. And one of the things that we do at Vimeo is we — I do this in all of my town halls, we do it in a lot of — is always talk about what’s working, what are our top three things, what 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 more open, an organization, about what do we need to change, do we need 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 helpful, and certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I that advice about being video-first. So many of our members our workforce live in a video world. They’re used to video as means of communication. Which brings me to my next question. You’ve about how the organization has changed. How do you see the workforce changing? What is different with young millennials, and even, now, the first wave of Gen Z coming the workplace?
AS: I think it’s incredibly different. And, know, one of the 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 and a totally different generation. But I see a lot differences. One of them, I think, is the line your personal life and work life is definitely blending. … If you think about personal life — look at TikTok. This generation is used consuming content, learning, engaging, in a very specific way. And if they then to come to work and to be trained on job, read a 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going happen, right? Or if you miss the meeting, and you have watch the Zoom recording of a three-hour meeting — that’s just not to happen. And so I think that there is definitely sort of — you know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” Those are just fancy words for saying way … 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 other thing I see sort of the generation, the newest generation coming into the workforce, is of, of course mission-driven, but I think there’s a to really understand the “why” behind things. And one of communication mantras is we never talk about the “what” the “why.” And I think there’s a desire to — the idea that, well, there’s a hierarchy, or “My told me that this is what we’re going to do” or — that, I think, is increasingly away, and people, they don’t just want to do something because with formal authority told them to do it. They want to do it they understand why it matters, why it ties to the mission. And I think that that leaders to really bring more of the “why” into how we communicate motivate people.
So those are two of the things I see, and then, you know, third I think is just flexibility. I think — and this is true of all of us, but the younger generation — I think they’re looking for flexibility and they want options choices. And it’s not always easy and feasible to ultimate flexibility, but this is where I try and it more to agility. How can we have approaches principles and be committed to things, but also know when to question, and when actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share a few examples of ways that you at have tried to really 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 or in 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 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 our workforce is very similar: it’s Q and As 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 teams. But I would say one of the things we’ve really tried to do is appreciate that when we inputs from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look at averages. You can’t look at it all in totality and try and pull out an obvious “Oh, is how everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — when really dig into it and truly listen and do groups 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 to do is have a bunch 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 kind of figuring it out, but I will tell you, some of the that we’ve heard from employees have changed our approach to hybrid or travel or even things like our approach to compensation or approach to DE and I. So I think it’s more 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 teams in so many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, the way we solve different things. And we used have a very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global approach in the name of consistency fairness, and what we found is we have to be more localized. We really do. have to design mechanisms to support our teams in very different way, because 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 lot of — as an executive team and leadership — it’s involved a lot of trying things, it not working, 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 our approach there multiple times, and I know we will again, because we’re still out the right way to listen and have a dialogue with a diverse workforce.
SM: I want to stay on newcomers to the workplace for another moment, because another thing I hear from CEOs of my generation and older is a about making sure that we are not just providing our youngest employees with the flexibility and the that they need, but also the training and the wisdom that comes, oftentimes, being in close proximity to a mentor or to who’s done the job for many more years. What is your philosophy and on making sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: think it’s a major challenge that I don’t know that will sort of have a solution for. I think about that all the time. We have a very distributed at Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. My executive team is distributed. So I’ve really realized the benefits of being able to have a workforce and being able to attract talent and just be more inclusive. the flip side, there’s definitely, I think, a 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 of the approaches we’ve been taking, and what’s sort of nice, is we’re it at the top. So if my entire executive is distributed, that means I have to learn how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship development for a whole set of new executives who have just joined. We have sort of up the executive team almost entirely in the last twelve months. So I’ve had to deal with the challenges. And we’ve had to literally — we call it our operating system — we’ve had design an operating 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, my perspective, it’s more we have to be able do it ourselves and model it and then, I think it’s a more proven mechanism for young people. will say, like many companies … I do believe that in-person collaboration is really important for learning. do have — we bring people into an office. If you’re remote, we ask to come in and spend time in a room with team, do social activities, all of those things. I don’t think they will go away, do I think they should. But, you know, candidly, it’s area that I don’t think we’ve really figured out perfectly and I it’s really critical that as leaders, we do that, so that this next is able to get the same growth opportunities that we had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — the tools that you mentioned at the beginning of our conversation, around video, can be really there. I’ve heard of a number of organizations that really encouraged their young people to present, as a way of having to go out find the information they need. And then, because we video tools available to us now, you know, they have an opportunity to share their ideas a large group of people, but first, kind of through the fact-finding and the research, and then sharing ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked a little bit about mental and the different things that people are bringing to work, whether is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives Matter protests, we had a of people coming to the office feeling trauma, and feeling really personal issues to the surface. I’m wondering if you can share a little bit how you deal with this increasing personal — you know, when people bring their whole to the office, which we encourage, sometimes, they bring things, parts themselves that are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always thought the responsibility of a leader is to empower to do their best work and the responsibility of company is to empower our people to do their work. And so, of course, we have a real role to play in supporting things mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the way I think, like many companies, the way we probably sought to do that was more, you know, you’re seeing problem and you’re reacting by trying to provide mental-health resources or support or time off. And, think — and empathy, just empathy. I think that’s important. And I always say, to so many of our … just care. If we just care, a lot of get easier. You don’t have to design a hundred mechanisms if you just have the right in place who care. At the same time, I will what we’re realizing now, in sort of this next phase, that that’s a reactive approach and actually the root cause — we can control at Vimeo — the root cause of lot of stress and burnout is sometimes people either don’t enough … focus, we’re asking people to do too many or they don’t feel like they’re supported in doing things. And that, I think, is actually where we be spending more time — is how do we actually set right prioritization and focus. There’s some issue there, right? There’s a cause there that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m because there’s too much going on. I don’t feel to solve it.” Then, we should get into the “What the detail there, and do we need to do things differently?” And, know, one of our themes at Vimeo this year “Do less, better.”
SM: As the economy starts to, maybe, move sideways, do think that there are going to be stakeholders who say, know, “Out with all of this touchy-feely, the workplace-as-a-family stuff. are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the pendulum already swung pretty clearly. I mean, I work in SAS, software a service, so we already went from “growth at cost” to “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. My perspective on this — and it hasn’t — I think the best leaders and cultures deliver results and people well. And I actually think, if you treat people well, kindness and empathy, you will get better results. And so, you know, for me, I think what observed over the last few years is — that part, think, hasn’t changed and shouldn’t change. There were, I think, a lot times when companies, we did things because maybe it lip service or we felt pressured. And that’s not going be sustainable. But that’s not what — ultimately, that’s not what people need, in case. So, you know, I sort of see it as — way you channel how you are caring towards your employees and you are empathetic, always should be in service of helping people do their best work, which will deliver results, will be good for the bottom line. And you have to that. You have to be committed to that and if you use that consistently your decision-making, it should not be a trade-off. These are 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 just had a baby. There’s a lot on shoulders. How, as a leader, do you practice some self-care or how you make sure that you’re getting the balance you need to the most effective leader you can be?
AS: I think — recently, phrase 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 is hard, it’s gotten harder.” We went public at the height of the pandemic and last year, market has been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously going through ton with 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? so, I think for me, it’s sort of acknowledging of those things has helped me a lot. The way I’ve tried to kind of lead, been — it’s always been this way, which is, for me, it’s have to have passion. I have to have passion. I have to believe so deeply what Vimeo is doing is important and matters for the world. And if I passion, I have energy and then I will — I can kind of through anything. I have to find joy in my team. feel like, especially in hard times, I look back my career and actually, some of my most fulfilling times in work were when — in hardest business situations. But it’s because it brought a 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 have to be little selfish sometimes, and take care of yourself. And I am really fortunate. I I have a great support network around me and I … My husband and I have a deal, where Sundays, I disappear for a couple of hours. I just 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 a couple of days, work from home a couple of days. Tell us a little bit more about what you could potentially see that evolving into.
AS: I the idea of an office as a time and completely goes away. And I think it’s really going to people are going to want to work from anywhere, in the world. Even the concept of where you’re located is going to change. then the idea of like “I’m going to work on time zone” or “I’m going to attend this meeting that’s on this date” — I think that’s going to away. And I think what you’re going to find is more and work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going to be done anywhere, anytime. and collaboration will happen asynchronously and we will be tools and technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to basically enable at scale among many people, anywhere in the world. And I think leadership, leaders are going to look different. I think it’s going to require — if you think about the skill set to be global CEO 30 years ago versus what that will require now — think in the future … the skill set is to be like, “How do you communicate with diverse, audiences and employees across time zones in a way that is effective, that provides and alignment at 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 … there were these constraints that we’ve lived with, whether it time or place or 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 in the right way, that we’ll come away a much more evolved and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I think you showed us some of the passion that you’ve talked as being the thing that gives you energy to lead that organization of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, thank so much for being here today.
AS: Thank you. This great.