Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so glad you’re here with us today.
Anjali Sud: you, it is great to be here.
SM: At Vimeo, you lead a of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, you have finance people, you have technologists. I’m going to start with a really easy question: was it like to manage this diverse workforce through global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught to office?
AS: Oh, it was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. know, I think the only constant has been change. as a leader, you obviously — you have a that’s looking for certainty, and they’re looking to control what’s happening around them. And I think what all 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 around you. And so, you know, for me, it was about agility. How do we stay flexible as a team? How do we communicate in real time and keep informed as we try and move through things? And then, also just how we lead with more humanity? You know, for Vimeo, one of the things I’ve learned over the last few years is we each the world so differently. We have employees who are remote. have an incredible team in Ukraine … employees who are the front lines, who are literally at war. On the other hand, you people in different parts of the world 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 for everyone. But I ultimately think it forced us, as a company, build more trust, because to be agile and flexible, to lead with humanity, you have to trust each other. And so, I’m sort of optimistic actually we’re emerging from this time with a culture that is more flexible nimble, and also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: Can you give an example of something that you into place, perhaps during the pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust or create a sense of community or even to communicate that there is no certainty, that is a muscle that you you’ll continue to use in the organization far into the future?
AS: There’s couple of things that we did. One — and we are a video platform, so I obviously to talk about video, but I mean this sincerely — of the hardest 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 leadership team, when we were communicating, to do with your face, and your hands and your body your emotions. And we did that through live streaming a lot of communications, a lot of videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. So I send … record my screen and just send a note out people. Every 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 come through and I think that helped a lot to, kind of, stay close. So that was one, think, really important thing.
Another important thing is, I think, just creating mechanisms to it easier to talk about when things aren’t working, because a critical part of being agile is we have an area that isn’t working. And so of the things that we do at Vimeo is try — I do this in all of my town halls, we it in a lot of meetings — is always about what’s working, what are our top three things, and what isn’t — yet. And we’ve kind of created, I think, a framework sort of takes the stigma away from talking about what’s working. And when you make that normalized and comfortable for people, I feel like it’s allowed to be more open, as an organization, about what do need to change, what do we need to pivot. And of those, being more video-first in our communication and being transparent and normalizing what’s not working, I think has really helpful, and certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I that advice about being video-first. So many of our members of our workforce live a video world. They’re used to video as a means of communication. Which me to my next question. You’ve talked about how the organization has changed. How do you see the changing? What is different with the young millennials, and 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 lot is a lot of the mechanisms and communication that we still use today, they’re really antiquated. They were for a totally different environment and a totally different generation. But I a lot of differences. One of them, I think, the line between your personal life and work life is blending. … If you think about your personal life — at TikTok. This generation is used to consuming content, learning, engaging, in a very way. And if they then have to come to work and to trained on a job, read a 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going to happen, right? Or if you the meeting, and you have to watch the Zoom recording of a three-hour meeting — that’s not going to happen. And so I think that there is definitely of this — you know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” Those are fancy words for saying the way … we communicate interact in our personal lives is going to translate work. And so I definitely think that’s an area opportunity.
The other thing I see from sort of the generation, the generation coming into the workforce, is sort of, of course mission-driven, but think there’s a desire to really understand the “why” behind things. And one our 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, “My boss told me that this is what we’re to do” or — that, I think, is increasingly moving away, and people, they don’t just want to something because someone with formal authority told them to do it. They want to do it because 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 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 true of all of us, but particularly the younger generation — I think they’re looking flexibility and they want options and choices. And it’s not always easy and to provide ultimate flexibility, but this is where I try and orient it to agility. How can we have approaches and principles and committed to things, but also know when to question, and to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share a examples of ways that you at Vimeo have tried really be proactive when it comes to addressing or understanding what your next generation of employees are going want, either in terms of purpose or in terms of 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 of values the workforce?
AS: Firstly, of course, it’s all about listening, right? I think, like many organizations, the way we’ve tried listen and understand our workforce is very similar: it’s and As and engagement surveys, and things like that. And of the things that we’ve done, we have a people and culture NPS, promoter score, the same way we have for our users, for our internal teams. I would say one of the things that we’ve tried to do is appreciate that when we get inputs our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look at the averages. You can’t look at all in totality and try and pull out an obvious “Oh, this is everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — when you really into it and truly listen and do focus groups talk to people — what you’ll find is actually there’s very different experiences and desires among employees. And so, I think for us, what we’ve just tried to do is have a bunch of different mechanisms and then resist the urge to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, is what everyone’s feeling, let’s just do this thing as action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still kind of figuring out, but I will tell you, some of the things that we’ve heard from employees have changed our to hybrid work or travel or even things like approach to compensation or our 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 and in so many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the way we solve different things. we used to have a very, sort of, “One Vimeo” approach in the name of consistency and fairness, and we found is we have to be more localized. We really do. have to design mechanisms to support our teams in a very different way, because their and the world around them is quite different.
So I think that’s been one, and I will tell you, it has involved a lot of — as an executive and leadership team — it’s involved a lot of trying things, it not working, and changing them. 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 and A, or real-time Q and A. We’ve changed our there multiple times, and I know we will again, because we’re still figuring out the right way listen and have a dialogue with a very diverse workforce.
SM: I 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 our employees with the flexibility and the purpose that they need, also the training and the wisdom that comes, oftentimes, being in close proximity to a mentor or to somebody who’s the job for many more years. What is your and take 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 that all the time. We have a very distributed workforce at Vimeo. We have in over eight countries. My executive team is entirely distributed. I’ve really realized the benefits of being able to have a distributed workforce and being able to talent and just be more inclusive. On the flip side, there’s definitely, I think, a lack of the same kinds of opportunities and mentorship, particularly for the youngest folks that are entering the workforce. So I 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. So if my executive team is distributed, that means I have to learn to provide real-time feedback, mentorship and development for a whole set new executives who have just joined. We have sort of changed up the executive team almost entirely the last twelve months. So I’ve had to deal with the challenges. And we’ve had to literally — we call it our 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 right communication loops? so I think, from my perspective, it’s more we have to be able to do ourselves and model it and then, I think it’s a more proven mechanism for people. I will say, like many companies … I believe that in-person collaboration is really important for learning. do have — we bring people into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks to come and spend time in a room with their team, do social activities, all those things. I don’t think they will go away, nor do I think should. But, you know, candidly, it’s an 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 generation is able to get the same growth opportunities that all 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 of organizations that have really encouraged young people to 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 an to share their ideas with a large group of people, first, kind of going through the fact-finding and the research, then sharing their ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked a little bit about mental illness and different things that people are bringing to work, whether it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Lives Matter protests, we had a lot of people coming to the office feeling trauma, and really personal issues bubble to the surface. I’m wondering if can share a little bit about how you deal with this increasing — you know, when people bring their whole selves the 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 their work and the responsibility of a company is to empower our people 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 I think, like many companies, the way we initially probably sought to do that more, you know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting by to provide mental-health resources or support or time off. And, think — and empathy, just empathy. I think that’s really important. And I always say, so many of our managers … just care. If we just care, a lot things 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 say what we’re realizing now, in of this next phase, is that that’s a reactive approach and actually the root cause — that can control at Vimeo — the root cause of a lot of stress and burnout is people either 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, is actually where we should spending more 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, feel like I’m stressed because there’s too much going on. don’t feel equipped to solve it.” Then, we should get into the “What is detail there, and do we need to do things 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 stakeholders who say, you know, “Out with all of this touchy-feely, the workplace-as-a-family stuff. are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the pendulum has already swung clearly. I mean, I work in SAS, software as a service, so we already went from “growth all cost” to “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. My on this — and it hasn’t changed — I think the best leaders and cultures deliver results 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 last few years is — that part, I think, hasn’t and 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 sustainable. But that’s not what — ultimately, that’s not what people need, in case. So, you know, I sort of see it — the way you channel how you are caring your employees and how you are empathetic, always should be service of helping people do their best work, which deliver results, which will be good 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, should not be a trade-off. These are not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, have you been taking care of yourself during this of tremendous turmoil and change, but also growth? You mentioned you just had a baby. There’s lot on your shoulders. How, as a leader, do you practice some self-care or do you make sure that you’re getting the balance you need be the most effective leader you can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase use a lot to myself is “two things can be true, both can be true.” I say a lot. And for me, I think of it as, like, “This job is hard, and it’s gotten harder.” We went at the height of the pandemic and last year, market has been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously going through a ton with post-pandemic, we have team in Ukraine going through a war — all these things that have happened. And so, it’s hard job, and it’s an incredibly privileged job. It’s gift, right? And so, I think for me, it’s of acknowledging both of those things has helped me lot. The way I’ve tried to kind of lead, has — it’s always been this way, which is, for me, it’s I to have passion. I have to have passion. I to believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing is and matters for the world. And if I have passion, I energy and then I will — I can kind of through anything. I have to find joy in my team. I like, especially in hard times, I look back at my career and actually, of my most fulfilling times in work were when — in the hardest situations. But it’s because it brought a group of people together all on one team, and I think that’s been, you know, a really big part of it. And then, yeah, like, have 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 do … My husband and I have a deal, on Sundays, I disappear for a couple of hours. I just disappear and I walk the city and I listen to my music and do whatever need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: So talked about how hybrid work is going to look very different the future than how we describe it today. It’s basically in office a of days, work from home a couple of other days. Tell us a little bit more about what could potentially see that evolving into.
AS: I think idea of an office as a time and place completely away. And I think it’s really going to be people going to want to work from anywhere, anywhere in the world. the concept of where you’re located is going to change. And then idea of like “I’m going to work on this time zone” or “I’m going attend this meeting that’s scheduled on this date” — I think that’s going go away. And I think what you’re going to find 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 and technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to basically enable that at among many people, anywhere in the world. And then I leadership, leaders are going to look different. Because I think it’s to require — if you think about the skill set be a global CEO 30 years ago versus what will require now — I think in the future … the skill is going to be like, “How do you communicate diverse, global audiences and employees across time zones in way 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 of that is to look very different. But I think the ultimate you’ll see is just … there were these constraints that we’ve lived with, whether was time or place or budget, in some cases. And think those constraints are going to go away. And the is that if we are flexible and smart and use technology in the right way, that we’ll actually away a 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, thank you much for being here today.
AS: Thank you. This great.