Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so glad you’re with us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is great to be here.
SM: At Vimeo, you a workforce of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, you have finance people, have technologists. So I’m going to start with a really easy question: what was like to manage this diverse workforce through a global pandemic, a racial and a very fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, 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 … responsible for, was that you couldn’t offer certainty, you couldn’t always control the environment and the things around you. so, you know, for me, it was really about agility. How we stay flexible as a team? How do we communicate in real and keep people informed as we try and move things? And then, also just how do we lead with more humanity? You know, Vimeo, one of the things I’ve really learned over the last few years we each experience the world so differently. We have employees who are remote. We have an incredible team Ukraine … employees who are on the front lines, who are at war. On the other hand, you have people in parts of the world who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, so I think it was really just — the hardest part not being able to give everyone certainty, not being able to just apply a one-size-fits-all rule for everyone. I ultimately think it forced us, as a company, build more trust, because to be agile and flexible, and lead with humanity, you have to trust each other. And so, I’m of optimistic that actually we’re emerging from this time with a culture that is more flexible and nimble, also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: Can you give example of something that you put into place, perhaps during pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust or create a sense of community or even to communicate that there is no certainty, that a muscle that you think you’ll continue to use the organization far into the future?
AS: There’s a of things that we did. One — and we are a video platform, so obviously have to talk about video, but I mean this — one of the hardest parts, when you’re all sort of disparate, is lose context and you lose nuance when you communicate. 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 it with your face, and your hands and your and your emotions. And we did that through live streaming a lot of communications, recording a of videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. So I … I record my screen and just send a out to people. Every new hire does a video to welcome and themselves. A lot of our meetings we’ve actually replaced with just quick video presentations. And actually, what really did was allow the humanity and the context to come and I think that helped us a lot to, kind of, stay close. So that was one, think, really important thing.
Another important thing is, I think, just mechanisms 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 so one the things that we do at Vimeo is we try — I do this in of my town halls, we do it in a lot meetings — is always talk about what’s working, what are our top three things, and isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind of created, 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 be more open, as an organization, about what do we need change, what do we need to pivot. And both 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: love that advice about being video-first. So many of our members of our workforce live in video world. They’re used to video as a means of communication. brings me to my next question. You’ve talked about how the organization has changed. How do see the workforce changing? What is different with the 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 still today, they’re really antiquated. They were designed for a different environment and a totally different generation. But I see lot of differences. One of them, I think, is the line between your personal life and work life definitely blending. … If you think about your personal life — look at TikTok. This generation is to consuming content, learning, engaging, in a very specific way. if they then have to come to work and to be on a 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 going to happen. so I think that there is definitely sort of — you know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” Those are fancy words for saying the way … we communicate and interact in our personal is going 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 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” without “why.” And I think there’s a desire to — the that, well, there’s a hierarchy, or “My boss told me that this is we’re going to do” or — that, I think, is increasingly moving away, and people, don’t just want to do something because someone with authority told them to do it. They want to it because they 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 the things I see, and then, you know, the third I think is just flexibility. think — and this is true of all of us, but particularly younger generation — I think they’re looking for flexibility and they want options and choices. And it’s always easy and feasible to provide ultimate flexibility, but this is where I try orient 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 that you at Vimeo have tried to really be proactive when comes to addressing or understanding what your next generation of employees are to want, either in terms of purpose or in terms of benefits or in terms flexibility? Are there programs or processes you’ve put in place really speak to this big sea change we’re seeing in terms of from the workforce?
AS: Firstly, of course, it’s all listening, right? And I think, like many organizations, the way we’ve tried to and understand our workforce is very similar: it’s Q and and engagement surveys, and things like that. And some of things that we’ve done, we have a people and culture NPS, net promoter score, the same we have for our users, for our internal teams. But I would one of the things that we’ve really tried to is appreciate that when we get inputs from our employees, 1,300 … you can’t look at the averages. You can’t look at it all in totality and and pull out an obvious “Oh, this is how everybody’s feeling.” what you actually — when you really dig into it and listen and do focus groups and talk to people — you’ll find is actually there’s very different experiences and among your employees. And so, I think for us, we’ve really just tried to do is have a bunch different listening mechanisms and then resist the urge to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, is what everyone’s feeling, let’s just do this thing the action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still kind of figuring it out, but will tell you, some of the things that we’ve 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, really understanding what’s happening, but not treating everything as, like, an average or same. And for us, it’s been particularly stark because have offices and teams in so many different countries the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the way we different things. And we used to have a very, of, “One Vimeo” global approach in the name of consistency and fairness, what we found is we have to be more localized. We really do. We have to mechanisms to support our teams in a very different way, because their experiences and 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 team and leadership team — it’s involved a lot of trying things, it working, and changing them. And a great example is our Q and A. I like every leader I know has a perspective on whether they do open Q and A or Q and A, or real-time Q and A. We’ve changed our approach there multiple times, I know we will again, because we’re still figuring out the right way to listen and have dialogue with a very diverse workforce.
SM: I want stay on newcomers to the workplace for just another moment, because thing I hear from CEOs of my generation and older 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 in close proximity to mentor or to somebody who’s done the job for many more years. What is your philosophy take on making sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: I think it’s a challenge that I don’t know that everyone will sort of a solution for. I think about that all the time. We have very distributed workforce at Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. executive team is entirely distributed. So I’ve really realized benefits of being able to have a distributed workforce and being to attract talent and just be more inclusive. On flip side, there’s definitely, I think, a lack of the kinds of learning opportunities and mentorship, particularly for the 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, is we’re modeling at the top. So if my entire executive team distributed, that means I have to learn how to real-time feedback, mentorship and development for a whole set of executives who have just joined. We have sort of up the executive team almost entirely in the last twelve months. So I’ve to deal with the same challenges. And we’ve had to — we call it our operating system — we’ve had to design an system, as an executive team, for how we’re going to work together in environment. How do we 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 and model it and then, I think it’s a more proven mechanism for young people. I will say, many companies … I do believe that in-person collaboration is really important for learning. We have — we bring people into an office. If you’re remote, ask folks to come in and spend time in room with their team, do social activities, all of those things. I don’t they will go away, nor do I think they should. But, know, candidly, it’s an area that I don’t think we’ve really figured out perfectly and I think it’s critical that as leaders, we do that, so that next 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, can be really there. I’ve heard of a number of organizations that have really their young people to present, as a way of having to go out and the information they need. And then, because we have video available to us now, you know, they have an opportunity to share their ideas a large group of people, but first, kind of going through the fact-finding the research, and then sharing their ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked a little bit mental illness and the different things that people are bringing to work, whether is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives Matter protests, we had lot of people coming to the office feeling trauma, and really personal issues bubble to the surface. I’m wondering if you can share a little bit about you deal with this increasing personal — 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 responsibility of a leader is to empower to do their best work and the responsibility of a company is to empower our people to do best work. And so, of course, we have a real role to in supporting things like mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, way I think, like many companies, the way we initially probably sought to do that was more, 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. think that’s really important. And I always say, to so many of our managers … just care. If just care, a lot of things get easier. You don’t have to design a hundred mechanisms if you just the right people in place who care. At the same time, I will say what we’re now, in sort of this next phase, is that that’s reactive approach and actually the root cause — that we can at Vimeo — the root cause of a lot of stress and burnout is sometimes either don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking people to too many things or they don’t feel like they’re supported in those things. And that, I think, is actually where we be spending more time — is how do we actually set the right prioritization 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 equipped to solve it.” Then, we should get into the “What is the detail there, 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, move sideways, do you think there are going to be stakeholders who say, you know, “Out with 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 in SAS, software a service, so we already went from “growth at all cost” to “profitability,” you know, swing. My perspective on this — and it hasn’t changed — I the best leaders and cultures deliver results and treat people well. And I actually think, if treat people well, with kindness and empathy, you will get better results. so, you know, for me, I think what I observed over the last years is — that part, I think, hasn’t changed shouldn’t change. There were, I think, a lot of times when companies, we things because maybe it 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 of see it as — the way you channel how you are caring towards your employees and you are empathetic, always should be in service of helping people their best work, which will deliver results, which will be good for the bottom line. And you to believe that. You have to be committed to that and if use that consistently in your decision-making, it should not be trade-off. These are not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, how have you been taking of yourself during this period of tremendous turmoil and change, but also growth? You you just had a baby. There’s a lot on shoulders. How, as a leader, do you practice some self-care how do you make sure that you’re getting the balance you need to be the most effective you can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase I use a to myself is “two things can be true, both can be true.” I this a lot. And for me, I think of it as, like, “This job is hard, it’s gotten harder.” We went public at the height of the and last year, market volatility has been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously going through ton with post-pandemic, we have a team in Ukraine going through a war — these things that have happened. And so, it’s a hard job, it’s an incredibly privileged job. It’s a gift, right? And so, I think for me, it’s sort of both of those things has helped me a lot. The I’ve tried to kind of lead, has been — it’s been this way, which is, for me, it’s I have have passion. I have to have passion. I have believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing is important and matters the world. And if I have passion, I have 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 and actually, some of my most fulfilling times in work were when — in the hardest situations. But it’s because it brought a group of people together on one team, and so I think that’s been, know, a really big part of it. And then, yeah, like, you have to be a little sometimes, and take care of yourself. And I am really fortunate. I think I have a great network around me and I do … My husband and have a deal, where on Sundays, I disappear for couple of hours. I just disappear and I walk around the city I listen to my music and do whatever I need to do, that’s really important.
SM: So you talked about how work is going to look very different in the future how we describe it today. It’s basically in office couple of days, work from home a couple of other days. Tell us a bit more about what you could potentially see that into.
AS: I think the idea of an office as a time place completely goes away. And I think it’s really going to be people are going to want work from anywhere, 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 scheduled on this date” — I that’s going to go away. And I think what you’re going to is more and more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going to done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously and we will be tools and technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to basically enable that scale 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 a global 30 years ago versus what that will require now — I think in the future … the skill is going to be like, “How do you communicate with diverse, audiences and employees across time zones in a way is effective, that provides context 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 just … were these constraints that we’ve lived with, whether it was time or place budget, in some cases. And I think those constraints are going go away. And the promise is that if we are flexible and smart and we technology in the right way, that we’ll actually come away much more evolved and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I you just showed us some of the passion that you’ve about as being the thing that gives you energy lead that organization of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, thank you so much for here today.
AS: Thank you. This was great.