Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so glad you’re here us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is great to be here.
SM: Vimeo, you lead a workforce of 1,300 people worldwide — 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 through a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught return office?
AS: Oh, it was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. You know, I think the constant has been change. And as a leader, you obviously — you have workforce that’s looking for certainty, and they’re looking to what’s happening around them. And I think what we found, as leaders, no matter what company you were … responsible for, was that you couldn’t offer certainty, you couldn’t always control the environment and the things you. And so, you know, for me, it was really agility. How do we stay flexible as a team? How we communicate in real time and keep people informed as we try and move things? And then, also just how do we lead with more humanity? You know, for Vimeo, one the things I’ve really learned over the last few is we each experience the world so differently. We employees who are remote. We have an incredible team in Ukraine … employees who are the front lines, who are literally at war. On the other hand, you have in different parts of the world who are experiencing mental-health challenges burnout, and so I think it was really just — the hardest part not being able to give everyone certainty, not being to just apply a one-size-fits-all rule for everyone. But I ultimately it forced us, as a company, to build more trust, because be agile and flexible, and to lead with humanity, have to trust each other. And so, I’m sort of optimistic that actually we’re emerging from time with a culture that is more flexible and nimble, and also, hopefully, more trust.
SM: Can you give an example of something that you into place, perhaps during the pandemic, to enhance communications build trust or create a greater sense of community or even to communicate that is no certainty, that is a muscle that you think you’ll continue to use in organization far into the future?
AS: There’s a couple of things we did. One — and we are a video platform, so I obviously have to talk about video, but mean this sincerely — one of the hardest parts, when you’re all of disparate, is you lose context and you lose nuance you communicate. And we did make a concerted effort to away from email and chat, text-based communication, as much as possible, and actually try, 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 of communications, recording a lot of videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. So send … I record my screen and just send a out to people. Every new hire does a video to welcome introduce themselves. A lot of our meetings we’ve actually replaced just quick video presentations. And actually, what that really did was allow 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, really thing.
Another important thing is, I think, just creating to make 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 one of the things that we do at is we try — I do this in all of my halls, we do it in a lot of meetings — is always talk about what’s working, are our top three things, and what isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind created, I think, a framework that sort of takes the stigma away from talking what’s not working. And when you make that normalized and for people, I feel like it’s allowed us to be more open, as an organization, what do we need to change, what do we need to pivot. 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 of workforce live in a video world. They’re used to video as a means of communication. Which brings to my next question. You’ve talked about how the organization changed. How do you see the workforce changing? What different with the young millennials, and even, now, the first of Gen Z coming into the workplace?
AS: I it’s incredibly different. And, you know, one of the 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 a lot of differences. One of them, I think, is the line between personal life and work life is definitely blending. … If think about your personal life — look at TikTok. generation is used to consuming content, learning, engaging, in very 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 you have to watch Zoom recording of a three-hour meeting — that’s just not going to happen. And so I that there is definitely sort of this — you know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” are just fancy words for saying the way … communicate and interact in our personal lives is going translate to work. And so I definitely think that’s an area of opportunity.
The other I see from sort of the generation, the newest generation coming into the workforce, is sort of, course mission-driven, but I think there’s a desire to really the “why” behind things. And one of our communication mantras is we never about the “what” without the “why.” And I think there’s a desire to — the that, well, there’s a hierarchy, or “My boss told me that is what we’re going to do” or — that, think, is increasingly moving away, and people, they don’t just want to do something because someone with formal told them to do it. They want to do it because they understand why it matters, why 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 the things I see, then, you know, the third I think is just flexibility. I think — this is true of all of us, but particularly the younger — 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 try and orient it more to agility. How can we have approaches and principles and committed to things, but also know when to question, when to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you a few examples of ways that you at Vimeo have tried to really be when it comes to addressing or understanding what your next generation of employees are 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 that really speak this big sea change we’re seeing in terms of values from the workforce?
AS: Firstly, course, it’s all about listening, right? And I think, like many organizations, the way we’ve to 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, net promoter score, the same we have for our users, for our internal teams. But would say one of the things that we’ve really tried to do appreciate that when we get inputs from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t at the averages. You can’t look at it all in and try and pull out an obvious “Oh, this how everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — when really dig into it and truly listen and do focus groups and to people — what 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 of different listening mechanisms and then resist the urge to pull, like, “Oh, this is what everyone’s feeling, let’s do this thing as the action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still of figuring it out, but I will tell you, some the things that we’ve heard from employees have changed approach to hybrid work or travel or even things like our approach to compensation our approach to DE and I. So I think it’s more just like I said, agile listening, constantly really understanding what’s happening, but not treating everything as, like, an average or the same. for us, it’s been particularly stark because we have offices and teams in many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re substantial, about the way we solve different things. And we to have a very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global approach the name of consistency and fairness, and what we found is we have to be more localized. really do. We have to design mechanisms to support 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 executive and leadership team — it’s involved a lot of trying things, not working, and changing them. And a great example our Q and A. I feel like every leader I know has perspective on whether they do open Q and A or anonymous and A, or real-time Q and A. We’ve changed our approach there multiple times, and I know we again, because we’re still figuring out the right way to listen and have a with a very diverse workforce.
SM: I want to stay on newcomers to the workplace for another moment, because another thing I hear from CEOs my generation and older is a concern about making sure that we are 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 or to somebody who’s done the job for many more years. is your philosophy and take on making sure that transfer is happening?
AS: I 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. have people in over eight countries. My executive team is entirely distributed. So I’ve realized the benefits of being able to have a distributed workforce and able to attract talent and just be more inclusive. On the flip side, there’s definitely, I think, a of the same kinds of learning opportunities and mentorship, particularly for youngest folks that are entering the workforce. So I think it’s a challenge. One of the that we’ve been taking, and what’s sort of nice, is we’re modeling it at the top. if my entire executive team is distributed, that means I to learn how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship and development a whole set of new executives who have just joined. We have of changed up the executive team almost entirely in the last months. So I’ve had to deal with the same challenges. And we’ve had to literally — call it our operating system — we’ve had to design an operating system, as executive team, for how we’re going to work together in that environment. How do we share real-time feedback? do we create the right communication loops? And so think, from my perspective, it’s more we have to be to do it ourselves and model it and then, I think it’s a more proven mechanism for people. I will say, like many companies … I do believe that in-person collaboration really important for learning. We do have — we people into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks to in 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 they should. But, you know, candidly, it’s an area I don’t think we’ve really figured out perfectly and I it’s really critical that as leaders, we do that, so that next generation is able to get the same growth opportunities we all had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — the that you mentioned at the very beginning of our conversation, around video, can be really helpful there. I’ve of a number of organizations that have really encouraged their young people to present, a way of having to go out and find the information they need. And then, because have video tools available to us now, you know, they have opportunity to share their ideas with a large group people, but first, kind of going through the fact-finding and the research, and then sharing their ideas. an earlier comment, you talked a little bit about mental illness the 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 you share a little bit about how you deal with this increasing personal — you know, people bring their whole selves to the office, which we encourage, sometimes, bring things, parts of themselves that are challenging.
AS: … I’ve always thought the responsibility of a leader to empower people to do their best work and responsibility of a company is to empower our people to do their work. And so, of course, we have a real role play in supporting things like mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the way I think, like companies, the way we initially probably sought to do that was more, know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting by to provide mental-health resources or support or time off. And, I think — and empathy, empathy. I think that’s really important. And I always say, to so many our managers … just care. If we just care, a of things get easier. You don’t have to design a mechanisms if you just have the right people in who care. At the same time, I will say what we’re realizing now, sort of this next phase, is that that’s a reactive and actually the root 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 like they’re supported in doing those things. that, I think, is actually where we should be more time — is how do we actually set the right and focus. There’s some 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. I don’t equipped to solve it.” Then, we should get into “What is the detail there, and do we need to do things differently?” And, you know, of our themes at Vimeo this year was “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 are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. think the pendulum has already swung pretty clearly. I mean, I work SAS, software as a service, so we already went from “growth at 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, if you treat people well, with kindness and empathy, will get better results. And so, you know, for me, I think what I 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 was lip service or felt pressured. And that’s not going to be sustainable. But that’s not — ultimately, that’s not what people need, in any case. So, know, I sort of see it as — the you channel how you are caring towards your employees how you are empathetic, always should be in service helping people do their best work, which will deliver results, which will be good for the line. And you have to believe that. You have to be committed to that and if use that consistently in your decision-making, it should not be a trade-off. These not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, how have you been taking care of yourself during this period of turmoil and change, but also growth? You mentioned you just had a baby. There’s a on your shoulders. How, as a leader, do you practice some self-care or how do you sure that you’re getting the balance you need to be the effective leader you can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase I 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, it’s gotten 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 privileged job. It’s gift, right? And so, I think for me, it’s of acknowledging both of those things has helped me a lot. The way I’ve tried to kind lead, has been — it’s always been this way, which is, for me, it’s have to have passion. I have to have passion. I have believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing is important and for the world. And if I have passion, I have energy and then will — I can kind of move through anything. have to find joy in my team. I feel like, especially in hard times, I look back my career and actually, some of my most fulfilling times in work were when — in the business situations. But it’s because it brought a group people together all 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 I have a great support network around me and I do … My husband I have a deal, where on Sundays, I disappear for a of hours. I just disappear and I walk around the city and I listen to my and do whatever I need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: So you talked how hybrid work is going to look very different in the than how we describe it today. It’s basically in office couple of days, work from home a couple of days. Tell us a little bit more about what you could potentially see that into.
AS: I think the idea of an office as a and place completely goes away. And I think it’s really going to be people are going to to work from anywhere, anywhere in the world. Even the concept of where you’re located is going change. And then the idea of like “I’m going to work this time zone” or “I’m going to attend this that’s scheduled on this date” — I think that’s going go away. And I think what you’re going to find is and more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going to done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously and we will using tools and technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to basically enable at scale among many people, anywhere in the world. And then think leadership, leaders are going to look different. Because I think it’s going require — if you think about the skill set to be a global CEO 30 ago versus what that will require now — I think in the … the skill set is going to be like, “How you communicate with diverse, global audiences and employees across zones in a way that is effective, that provides context and alignment scale? How do you organize programs, whether it’s compensation, whether it’s, you know, training?” All of is going to look very different. But I think the thing you’ll see is just … there were these constraints that we’ve lived with, whether it time or place or budget, in some cases. And I think those constraints are to go away. And the promise is that if we are flexible and smart and we use 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 talked about as being the thing that you energy to lead that organization of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, thank so much for being here today.
AS: Thank you. was great.