Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so you’re here with us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is to be here.
SM: At Vimeo, you lead a workforce 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, you have finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going to with a really easy question: what was it like to manage this diverse workforce a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, it a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. You know, I think the only constant been change. And as a leader, you obviously — 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 you … responsible for, was that you couldn’t offer certainty, and couldn’t always control the environment and the things around you. so, you know, for me, it was really about agility. How do we flexible as a team? How do we communicate in time and keep people informed as we try and move things? And then, also just how do we lead with humanity? You know, for Vimeo, one of the things I’ve really learned the last few years is we each experience the world so differently. have employees who are remote. We have an incredible team in Ukraine … employees who are on 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 — the hardest part was not being able to give everyone certainty, not being able to just apply one-size-fits-all rule for everyone. But I ultimately think it forced us, as a company, build more trust, because to be agile and flexible, and to lead with humanity, you have to trust other. And so, I’m sort of optimistic that actually we’re emerging from this time with culture that is more flexible and nimble, and also, hopefully, has trust.
SM: Can you give an example of something that put into place, perhaps during the pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust create a greater sense of community or even to communicate that is no certainty, that is a muscle that you think you’ll continue use in the organization far into the future?
AS: There’s a couple of things that we did. One — we are a video platform, so I obviously have to talk video, but I mean this sincerely — one of hardest parts, when you’re all sort of disparate, is you lose context and you nuance when you communicate. And we did make a concerted effort to move away from and chat, text-based communication, as much as possible, and actually try, particularly our leadership team, when we were communicating, to do with your face, and your hands and your body and your emotions. And we did through live streaming a lot of communications, recording a of videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. So I send … I record my screen just send a note out to people. Every new does a video to welcome and introduce themselves. A lot of meetings we’ve actually replaced with just quick video presentations. And actually, what really did was allow the humanity and the context to come through I think that helped us a lot to, kind of, stay close. that was one, I think, really important thing.
Another important thing is, 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 that isn’t working. And so one of the things we do at Vimeo is we try — I do this in all of town halls, we do it in a lot of — is always talk about what’s working, what are top three things, and what isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind of created, I think, a that sort of takes the stigma away from talking what’s not working. And when you make that normalized and comfortable people, I feel like it’s allowed us to be more open, 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 has been helpful, and certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I love advice about being video-first. So many of our members our workforce live in a video world. They’re used video as a means of communication. Which brings me to my next question. You’ve talked about the organization has changed. How do you see the changing? What is different with the young millennials, and even, now, the wave of Gen Z coming into the workplace?
AS: I think it’s incredibly different. And, know, one of the things that we think about at Vimeo a lot a lot of the mechanisms and communication modes that we use today, they’re really antiquated. They were designed for a totally different environment and totally different generation. But I see a lot of differences. One of them, I think, is the line between personal life and work life is definitely blending. … If you think about personal life — look at TikTok. This generation is used to consuming content, learning, engaging, in a specific way. And if they then have to come to work and to be trained a job, read a 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going happen, right? Or if you miss the meeting, and have to watch the Zoom recording of a three-hour meeting — that’s just not going 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 the way … we communicate and interact in our personal lives is to translate to work. And so I definitely think that’s an of opportunity.
The other thing I see from sort of the generation, the newest generation into the workforce, is sort of, of course mission-driven, but think there’s a desire to really understand the “why” behind things. And of our communication mantras is we never talk about the “what” without the “why.” And think there’s a desire to — the idea that, well, there’s hierarchy, or “My boss told me that this is what we’re to do” or — that, I think, is increasingly away, and people, they don’t just want to do something because someone with formal authority told them do it. They want to do it because they understand it matters, why it ties to the mission. And I think that that leaders to really bring more of the “why” into how we and motivate people.
So those are two of the I see, and then, you know, the third I think just flexibility. I think — and this is true of 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 feasible provide ultimate flexibility, but this is where I try orient it more to agility. How can we have approaches and principles and be committed to things, but know when to question, and when to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you a few examples of ways that you at Vimeo have tried to really be proactive when it comes addressing or understanding what your next generation of employees are going to want, either in terms purpose or in terms of benefits or in terms of flexibility? Are there 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, of course, it’s all listening, right? And I think, like many organizations, the way we’ve tried to listen and understand our workforce very similar: it’s Q and As and engagement surveys, things like that. And some of the things that we’ve done, we a people and culture NPS, net promoter score, the way we have for our users, for our internal teams. I would say one of the things that we’ve really to do is appreciate that when we get inputs 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 obvious “Oh, this how everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — when you really dig into it and truly listen do focus 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 do is have a bunch of different listening mechanisms and resist the urge to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, this what everyone’s feeling, let’s just do this thing as action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still kind of figuring it out, I will tell you, some of the things that we’ve heard employees have changed our approach to hybrid work or or even things like our approach to compensation or our approach to and I. So I think it’s more just like I said, that listening, constantly really understanding what’s happening, but not treating as, like, an average or the same. And for us, it’s particularly stark because we have offices and teams in many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the we solve different things. And we used to have very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global approach in the name consistency and fairness, and what we found is we have to more localized. We really do. We have to design mechanisms support our teams in a very different way, because their experiences and the world around them is quite different.
So I that’s definitely been one, and I will tell you, it has a lot of — as an executive team and leadership team — it’s involved a lot trying things, it not working, and changing them. And a great example is our and A. I feel like every leader I know has a on whether they do open Q and A or anonymous Q and A, or real-time and A. We’ve changed our approach there multiple times, and I know 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 on to the workplace for just another moment, because another thing I hear from CEOs my generation and older is a concern about making sure we are not just providing our youngest employees with the flexibility and the that they need, but also the training and the 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 and on making sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: I 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 Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. My team is entirely distributed. So I’ve really realized the benefits of being able have a distributed workforce and being able to attract talent and just be more inclusive. the flip side, there’s definitely, I think, a lack of same kinds of learning opportunities and mentorship, particularly for the youngest that are entering the workforce. So I think it’s a challenge. of the approaches that we’ve been taking, and what’s sort of nice, we’re modeling it at the top. So if my executive team is distributed, that means I have to how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship and development for a whole set of new executives who just joined. We have sort of changed up the executive almost entirely in the last twelve months. So I’ve to deal with the same challenges. And we’ve had 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? do we create the right communication loops? And so I think, from perspective, it’s more we have to be able to do it ourselves and model and then, I think it’s a more proven mechanism for people. I will say, like many companies … I do believe that in-person is really important for learning. We do have — we people into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks to come in and spend in a room with their team, do 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 perfectly I think it’s really critical that as leaders, we that, so that this next generation is able to the same growth opportunities that we all had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — the tools you mentioned at the very beginning of our conversation, around video, can be helpful there. I’ve heard of a number of organizations that have really encouraged their people to present, as a way of having to go out and find the they need. And then, because we have video tools available to now, you know, they have an opportunity to share their ideas with a large of people, but first, kind of going through the fact-finding and the research, and sharing their ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked little bit about mental illness and the different things that people are bringing to work, it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives Matter protests, we had a lot of coming to the office feeling trauma, and feeling really personal issues bubble the surface. I’m wondering if you can share a little bit how you deal with this increasing personal — you know, people bring their whole selves to the office, which we encourage, sometimes, they things, parts of themselves that are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve thought the responsibility of a leader is to empower people do their best work and the responsibility of a company to empower our people to do their best work. And so, of course, have a real role to play in supporting things like mental-health or burnout. And, you know, the way I think, 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 resources or support time off. And, I think — and empathy, just empathy. I think that’s really important. And I always say, to so many our managers … just care. If we just care, a lot of things get easier. You don’t have to design hundred mechanisms if you just have the right people in place who care. the same time, I will say what we’re realizing now, in sort this next phase, is that that’s a reactive approach and the root cause — that we can control at Vimeo — the cause of a lot of stress and burnout is sometimes either don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking people 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 a root cause that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m stressed because 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 this year was “Do less, better.”
SM: As the starts to, maybe, move 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 results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the pendulum has already swung pretty clearly. I mean, work in SAS, software as a service, so we already went from “growth at all cost” “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. My perspective on this — it hasn’t changed — I think the best leaders and cultures deliver results and people well. And I actually think, if you treat well, with kindness and empathy, you will get better results. 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 when companies, we did things because maybe was lip service or we felt pressured. And that’s going to be sustainable. But that’s not what — ultimately, that’s not people need, in any case. So, you know, I sort of see as — the way you channel how you are caring towards your employees how you are empathetic, always should be in service of helping people their best work, which will deliver results, which will be good for the line. And you have to believe that. You have be committed to that and if you use that in your decision-making, it should not be a trade-off. These not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, how have you taking care of yourself during this period of tremendous and change, but also growth? You mentioned you just had baby. There’s a lot on your shoulders. How, as a leader, you practice some self-care or how do you make that you’re getting the balance you need to be most effective leader you can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase I a lot to myself is “two things can be true, can be true.” I say this a lot. And for me, I think 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 a war — 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, I think me, it’s sort of acknowledging both of those things has helped me a lot. The way I’ve to kind of lead, has been — it’s always this way, which is, for me, it’s I have to have passion. I have to have passion. I to believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing is important matters for the world. And if I have passion, I have energy then I will — I can kind of move anything. I have to find joy in my team. I feel like, in hard times, I look back 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 of people together all on one team, and so think that’s been, you know, a really big part it. And then, yeah, like, you have to be a little selfish sometimes, and care of yourself. And I am really fortunate. I think I a great support network around me and I do … My husband and I a deal, where on 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 talked about how hybrid work is going to look very different in future than how we describe it today. It’s basically in a couple of days, work from home a couple of other days. us a little bit more about what you could potentially see evolving into.
AS: I think 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, anywhere in the world. Even the concept where you’re located is going to change. And then the idea like “I’m going to work on this time zone” or “I’m going to attend this that’s scheduled on this date” — I think that’s going to go away. And I think what you’re to find is more and more work, particularly from workers, is going to be done anywhere, anytime. Communication collaboration will happen asynchronously and we will be using and technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to basically enable at scale among many people, anywhere in the world. And then I think leadership, leaders are going to different. Because I think it’s going to require — if you think about the skill to be a global CEO 30 years ago versus what will require now — I think in the future … the skill set is going to like, “How do you communicate with diverse, global audiences and employees across time zones in a way is effective, that provides context and alignment at scale? How you organize programs, whether it’s compensation, whether it’s, you know, training?” of that is going to look very different. But I 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 some cases. I think those constraints are going to go away. And the promise is that if are flexible and smart and we use technology in the right way, that we’ll actually come a much more evolved and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I think just showed us some of the passion that you’ve about 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.