Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so glad you’re here with today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is great to be here.
SM: Vimeo, you lead a workforce of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, you finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going to start with a really question: what was it like to manage this diverse workforce through global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, it was breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. You know, I think the only has been change. And as a leader, you obviously — you have a workforce that’s for certainty, and they’re looking to control what’s happening around them. And I what we all found, as leaders, no matter what company you were … for, was that you couldn’t offer certainty, and you couldn’t always control environment and the things around you. And so, you know, for me, it was really about agility. How we stay flexible as a team? How do we communicate in real time and people informed as we try and move through things? then, also just how do we lead with more humanity? You know, Vimeo, one of the things I’ve really learned over the few years is we each experience the world so differently. We have employees are remote. We have an incredible team in Ukraine … who are on the front lines, who are literally war. On the other hand, you have people in different parts of the who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so I think it was really just — the 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 us, as a company, to build more trust, because to be and flexible, and to lead with humanity, you have to each other. And so, I’m sort of optimistic that we’re emerging from this time with a culture that is more flexible nimble, and also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: Can give an example of something that you put into place, during the pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust or create a greater of community or even to communicate that there is certainty, that is a muscle that you think you’ll continue to use in the organization 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 about video, I mean this sincerely — one of the hardest parts, when you’re sort of disparate, is you lose context and you lose nuance when communicate. And we did make a concerted effort to away from email and chat, text-based communication, as much as possible, actually try, particularly for our leadership team, when we communicating, to do it with your face, and your hands your body and 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 … I record my and just send a note out to people. Every new does a video to welcome and introduce themselves. A lot our meetings we’ve actually replaced 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 was one, I think, really important thing.
Another important is, I think, just creating mechanisms to make it easier to talk about things aren’t working, because a critical part of being agile is recognizing have an area that isn’t working. And so one of the things that do at Vimeo is we try — I do in all of my town halls, we do it a lot of meetings — is always talk about what’s working, what are our top things, and what isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind of created, I think, a framework that of takes the stigma away from talking about what’s working. And when you make that normalized and comfortable for people, I feel it’s allowed us to be more open, as 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 being more transparent and normalizing what’s not working, I think has been really helpful, and certainly we’re carrying forward.
SM: I love that advice about being video-first. So many of our members our workforce live in a video world. They’re used to as a means of communication. Which brings me to next question. You’ve talked about how the organization has changed. How do you see workforce 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, you know, of the things that we think about at Vimeo a is a lot of the mechanisms and communication modes that we use today, they’re really antiquated. They were designed for a totally different environment a totally different generation. But I see a lot differences. One of them, I think, is the line between your personal and work life is definitely blending. … If you think about your personal life — look TikTok. This generation is used to consuming content, learning, engaging, a very specific way. And if they then have to to work and to be trained on a job, read 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going to happen, right? Or you miss the meeting, and you have to watch the Zoom recording a three-hour meeting — that’s just 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 just fancy words for the 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 I see from sort of the generation, the newest generation into the workforce, is sort of, of course mission-driven, but I think there’s a to really understand the “why” behind things. And one of our communication mantras is never talk about the “what” without the “why.” And I 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 away, and people, they don’t just want to do something someone with formal authority told them to do it. They want do it because they understand why it matters, why it ties to the mission. And I that that forces leaders to really bring more of “why” into how we communicate and motivate people.
So those are of the things I see, and then, you know, the third I think is just flexibility. I — and this is true of all of us, but particularly the younger generation — I they’re looking for flexibility and they want options and choices. it’s not always easy and feasible to provide ultimate flexibility, this is where I try and orient it more agility. How can we have approaches and principles and be committed things, but also know when to question, and when actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share a few examples of ways you at Vimeo have tried to really be proactive when comes to addressing or understanding what your next generation employees are going to want, either in terms of purpose or in terms of benefits 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 organizations, the way we’ve tried to listen and understand workforce is very similar: it’s Q and As and engagement surveys, and things like that. And some of the that we’ve done, we have a people and culture NPS, net promoter score, the same way we have our users, for our internal teams. But I would say one of the that we’ve really tried to do is appreciate that when get 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 out an obvious “Oh, this is how everybody’s feeling.” Because you actually — when you really dig into it and truly listen and focus groups and talk to people — what you’ll is actually there’s very different experiences and desires among your employees. And so, think for us, what we’ve really just tried to do is have a bunch of different listening and then resist the urge to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, this is what everyone’s feeling, let’s just do this as the action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still of figuring it out, but I will tell you, some of the things that we’ve heard from have changed our approach to hybrid work or travel or things like our approach to compensation or our approach to DE and I. I think it’s more just like I said, that agile listening, constantly understanding what’s happening, but not treating everything as, like, an or the same. And for us, it’s been particularly stark we have offices and teams in so many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about way we solve different things. And we used to a very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global approach in 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 the around them is quite different.
So I think that’s definitely been one, I will tell you, it has involved a lot of — as an executive team and leadership — it’s involved a lot of trying things, it working, and changing them. And a great example is our Q A. I feel like every leader I know has a perspective on whether they 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 listen and a dialogue with a very diverse workforce.
SM: I want to on newcomers to the workplace for just another moment, because thing I hear from CEOs of my generation and older is a concern about sure that we are not just providing our youngest employees with the flexibility the purpose that they need, but also the training and the wisdom that comes, oftentimes, from in close proximity to a mentor or to somebody who’s done job for many more years. What is your philosophy and take on sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: I think it’s a major that I don’t know that everyone will sort of have a solution for. I think that all the time. We have a very distributed at Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. My team is entirely distributed. So I’ve really realized the benefits of able to 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 the same kinds of learning opportunities and mentorship, particularly for the folks that are entering the workforce. So I think it’s a challenge. of the approaches that we’ve been taking, and what’s sort nice, is we’re modeling it at the top. So if entire executive team is distributed, that means I have to how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship and development for a whole set of executives who have just joined. We have sort of changed up the executive team almost in the last twelve months. So I’ve had to deal with same 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 we’re going to work together in that environment. How we share real-time feedback? How do we create the communication loops? And so I think, from my perspective, it’s more we to be able to do it ourselves and model it and then, think it’s a more proven mechanism for young people. I will say, like many … 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 away, nor do I think they should. But, you know, candidly, it’s area that I don’t think we’ve really figured out and I think it’s really critical that as leaders, we that, so that this next generation is able to get the same growth opportunities that all had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — the that you mentioned at the very beginning of our conversation, video, can be really helpful there. I’ve heard of a 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 an opportunity to share their with 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 about mental illness and the different things that people are to work, whether it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. the Black Lives Matter protests, we had a lot 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 about you deal with this increasing personal — you know, when people their whole selves to the office, which we encourage, sometimes, bring things, parts of themselves that are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always the responsibility of a leader is to empower people to do their best work and the of a company is to empower our people to do their work. And so, of course, we have a real to play in supporting things like mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the way I think, like many companies, way we initially probably sought to do that was more, you know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting trying to provide mental-health resources or support or time off. And, I — and empathy, just empathy. I think that’s really important. And always say, to so many of our managers … care. If we just care, a lot of things easier. You don’t have to design a hundred mechanisms you just have the right people in place who care. At same time, I will say what we’re realizing now, sort of this next phase, is that that’s a reactive approach and actually the root — that we can control at Vimeo — the 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 or they don’t like they’re supported in doing those things. And that, I think, is actually we should be spending more time — is how do we actually set the right prioritization focus. There’s some issue there, right? There’s a root there that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m stressed there’s too much going on. I don’t feel equipped to solve it.” Then, should get into the “What is the detail there, and 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, workplace-as-a-family stuff. Where are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I the pendulum has already swung pretty clearly. I mean, work in 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 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, know, for me, I think what I observed over the last few is — that part, I think, hasn’t changed and shouldn’t change. There were, I think, lot of times when companies, we did things because it was lip service or we felt pressured. And that’s not going to be sustainable. But that’s what — 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 for the bottom line. And you have to believe that. You have to be to that and if you 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 of yourself during this period of tremendous turmoil and change, but also growth? mentioned 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 to be the most effective leader you can be?
AS: think — recently, the phrase I use a lot myself is “two things can be true, both can be true.” I say this lot. And for me, I think of it as, like, “This job hard, and 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 a ton 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 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 kind of lead, has been — it’s always been this way, is, for me, it’s I have to have passion. I to have passion. I have to believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing is important 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. feel like, especially in hard times, I look back at my and actually, some of my most fulfilling times in work were when — in the business situations. But it’s because it brought a group of people all on one team, and so I think that’s been, you know, a really big of it. And then, yeah, like, you have to be a little selfish sometimes, and take care yourself. And I am really fortunate. I think I have a great support around me and I do … My husband and I a deal, where 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 I need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: you talked about how hybrid work is going to look different in the future than how we describe it today. It’s basically office a couple of days, work from home a couple of other days. Tell us 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 world. Even 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” “I’m going to attend this meeting that’s scheduled on date” — I think that’s going to go away. And I think what you’re going find is more and more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going to be done anywhere, anytime. Communication and will happen asynchronously and we will be using tools and technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s — to basically enable that at scale among many people, anywhere in the world. And then I think leadership, are going to look different. Because I think it’s going require — if you think about the skill set to be global CEO 30 years 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 time zones in a way that effective, that provides context and alignment at scale? How do you programs, whether it’s compensation, whether it’s, you know, training?” of that 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 was time or place or budget, in some cases. And think those constraints are going to go away. And the promise is that we are flexible and smart and we use technology in right way, that we’ll actually come away a much more and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I think you just showed us some of the passion that you’ve about as being the thing that gives you energy to lead that of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, thank you so much for here today.
AS: Thank you. This was great.