Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m glad you’re here with us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is to be here.
SM: At Vimeo, you lead a workforce of 1,300 people — you have creatives, you have finance people, you technologists. So I’m going to start with a really question: what was it like to manage this diverse workforce through a pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. You know, think the only constant has been change. And as a leader, obviously — you have a workforce that’s looking for certainty, they’re looking to control what’s happening around them. And I think what we found, as leaders, no matter what company you were … responsible for, that you couldn’t offer certainty, and you couldn’t always the environment and the things around you. And so, you know, for me, it really about agility. How do we stay flexible as team? How do we communicate in real time and keep people as we try and move through things? And then, also just how do we with more 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. We have employees who 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 world are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so I think was really just — the hardest part was not able to give everyone certainty, not being able to just apply a one-size-fits-all for everyone. But I ultimately think it forced us, a company, to build more trust, because to be and flexible, and to lead with humanity, you have trust each other. And so, I’m sort of optimistic that we’re emerging from this time with a culture that is more flexible and nimble, and also, hopefully, has trust.
SM: Can you give an example of something you put into place, perhaps during the pandemic, to enhance or build trust or create a greater sense of community or to communicate that there is no certainty, that is a that you think you’ll continue to use in the far into the future?
AS: There’s a couple of things that we did. One — and are a video platform, so I obviously have to talk about video, but I this sincerely — one of the hardest parts, when you’re all sort 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 were communicating, do it with your face, and your hands and your body and your emotions. And did that through live streaming a lot of communications, a lot of videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. I send … I record my screen and just send a out to people. Every new hire does a video welcome and introduce themselves. A lot of our meetings we’ve actually replaced with just quick video presentations. actually, what that really did was allow the humanity and the context come through and I think that helped us a to, kind of, stay close. So that was one, I think, important thing.
Another important thing is, I 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 an area that isn’t working. And so one of things that we do at Vimeo is we try — I do this all 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 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 not working. when you make that normalized and comfortable for people, feel like it’s allowed us to be more open, an organization, about what do we need to change, what do we need pivot. And both of those, being more video-first in our communication and more transparent and normalizing what’s not working, I think has really helpful, and certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I love that advice about being video-first. many of our members of our workforce live in 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 you see the workforce changing? What is different with young millennials, and even, now, the first wave of Gen Z into the workplace?
AS: I think it’s incredibly different. And, you know, one of 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 a totally generation. But I see a lot of differences. One of them, I think, is the line between your personal and work life is definitely blending. … If you about your personal life — look at TikTok. This generation is to consuming content, learning, engaging, in a very specific way. And if they then to come to work and to be trained on a job, read 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going to happen, right? Or if miss the meeting, and you have to watch the Zoom of 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 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 of opportunity.
The other I see from sort of the generation, the newest generation into the workforce, is sort of, of course mission-driven, I think there’s a desire to really understand the “why” behind things. And one of our 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 going to do” or — that, think, is increasingly moving away, and people, they don’t just want to do something because someone with formal authority 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 forces leaders really bring more of the “why” into 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. I think — this is true of all of us, but particularly the younger generation — think 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 to things, but also know when question, and when to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can share a few examples of ways that you at have tried to really be proactive when it comes to addressing or understanding your next generation of employees are going to want, in terms of purpose or in terms of benefits in terms of flexibility? Are there programs or processes you’ve put in that really speak to this big sea change we’re seeing in terms of from the workforce?
AS: Firstly, of course, it’s all about listening, right? And I think, like many organizations, way we’ve tried to listen and understand our workforce is very similar: it’s Q 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 we have for our users, for our internal teams. But I would say one of the that we’ve really tried to do is appreciate that when we inputs from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look at the averages. You can’t look at it all totality and try and pull out an obvious “Oh, this is how everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — you really dig into it and truly listen and do focus groups and to people — what you’ll find is actually there’s very experiences and desires among your employees. And so, I for us, what we’ve really just tried to do have a bunch of different listening mechanisms and then resist urge to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, this is what everyone’s feeling, let’s just do this thing as the action.” And it’s hard, we’re still kind of figuring it out, but I will tell you, of the things that we’ve heard from employees have changed our approach hybrid work or travel or even things like our approach to or our approach to DE and I. So I 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 because we have offices and teams in so many different countries and differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the way we solve different things. And we used 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 — an executive team and leadership team — it’s involved a lot of things, it not working, and changing them. And a example is our Q and A. I feel like every leader I has a perspective on whether they do open Q A or anonymous 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 right way to listen and have a dialogue with a diverse workforce.
SM: I want to stay on newcomers to the workplace for just moment, because another thing I hear from CEOs of my and older is a concern about making sure that we not just providing our 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 a mentor to somebody who’s done the job for many more years. is your philosophy and take on making sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: I think it’s major challenge that I don’t know that everyone will sort of a solution for. I think about that all the time. We have a very distributed workforce at Vimeo. We people in over eight countries. My executive team is entirely distributed. So I’ve really realized benefits of being able to have a distributed workforce being able to attract talent and just be more inclusive. On the flip side, there’s definitely, I think, lack of the same kinds of learning opportunities and mentorship, particularly for the folks that are entering the workforce. So I think it’s a challenge. One of the approaches we’ve been taking, and what’s sort of nice, is we’re it at the top. So if my entire executive team is distributed, that means I to learn how 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 almost entirely in the last twelve months. So I’ve had to with the same challenges. And we’ve had to literally — we call it our operating — we’ve had to design an operating system, as executive team, for how we’re going to work together in that environment. How do share real-time feedback? How do we create the right loops? And so I think, from my perspective, it’s more 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 believe that in-person collaboration is really important for learning. We do — we bring people into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks to come in and time in a room with their team, do social activities, all of those things. I don’t think they will go away, do I think they should. But, you know, candidly, it’s an 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 next is able to get the same growth opportunities that we had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — the tools you mentioned at the very beginning of our conversation, video, can be really helpful there. I’ve heard of number of organizations that have really encouraged their young people present, as a way of having to go out find the information they need. And then, because we have tools available to us now, you know, they have an to share their ideas with a large group of people, but first, kind of going through fact-finding and the research, and then sharing their ideas. In an comment, you talked a little bit about mental illness the different things that people are bringing to work, it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives Matter protests, had a lot of people coming to the office trauma, and feeling really personal issues bubble to the surface. I’m wondering you can share a little bit about how you deal with this increasing personal — you know, when bring their whole selves to the office, which we encourage, sometimes, they bring things, parts of themselves that challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always thought the responsibility of a leader is empower people to do their best 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 play in things like mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the way think, like many companies, the way we initially probably sought do that was more, you know, you’re seeing a and you’re reacting by trying to provide mental-health resources or support time off. And, I think — and empathy, just empathy. I that’s really important. And I always say, to so many of our managers … just care. we just care, a lot of things get easier. You don’t to design a hundred mechanisms if you just have the right people in place care. At the same time, I will say what we’re now, in sort of this next phase, is that that’s a reactive approach and actually root cause — that we can control at Vimeo — root cause of a lot of stress and burnout sometimes 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 be spending more time — is how do we actually the right prioritization and focus. There’s some issue there, right? There’s a root there that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m stressed because there’s too much on. I 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 Vimeo this year was “Do less, better.”
SM: As economy starts to, maybe, move sideways, do you think that there are going be stakeholders who say, you know, “Out with all of this touchy-feely, the workplace-as-a-family stuff. Where are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I the pendulum has already swung pretty clearly. I mean, I in SAS, software as a service, so we already went “growth at all cost” to “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. perspective on this — and it hasn’t changed — 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. And so, know, for me, I think what I observed over the last few years is — that part, think, hasn’t changed and shouldn’t change. There were, I think, a 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 what need, in any case. So, you know, I sort of see it as — the you channel how you are caring towards your employees and how you 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 have believe that. You have to be committed to that and if you use that consistently in decision-making, it should not be a trade-off. These are not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, have you been taking care of yourself during this period of tremendous turmoil and change, also growth? You mentioned you just had a baby. There’s a lot your shoulders. How, as a leader, do you practice some self-care or how do you make sure you’re getting the balance you need to be the most effective you can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase I use lot to myself is “two things can be true, both be true.” I say this a lot. And for me, I of it as, like, “This job is hard, and it’s harder.” We went public at the height of the pandemic last 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 — all these things that have happened. And so, it’s hard job, and it’s an incredibly privileged job. It’s a gift, right? so, I think for me, it’s sort of acknowledging of those things has helped me a lot. The way I’ve to kind of lead, has been — it’s always been this way, is, for me, it’s I have to have passion. I have have passion. I have to believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing is important and matters for world. And if I have passion, I have energy then I will — I can kind of move through anything. I have to find joy in team. I feel like, especially in hard times, I back at my career and actually, some of my fulfilling times in work were when — in the hardest business situations. But it’s because it brought group of people together all on one team, and so I think that’s been, know, a really big part of it. And then, yeah, like, have to be a little selfish sometimes, and take of yourself. And I am really fortunate. I think I have a support network around me and I do … My and I have a deal, where on Sundays, I for a couple of hours. I just disappear and I around the city and I listen to my music and do whatever I need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: you 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 other days. Tell us a little bit more about what you could potentially see evolving into.
AS: I think the idea of an office as time 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 concept of where you’re located is going to change. then the idea of like “I’m going to work on this time zone” or “I’m going to this meeting that’s scheduled on this date” — I that’s going to go away. And I think what you’re going to find is and more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going to be anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously and will be using tools and technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to basically enable at scale among many people, anywhere in the world. then I think leadership, leaders are going to look different. Because I think it’s going to require — if think about the skill set to be a global CEO 30 years ago versus what that will now — I think in the future … the skill set is to be like, “How do you communicate with diverse, audiences and employees across time zones in a way that effective, that provides context and alignment at scale? How do organize programs, whether it’s compensation, whether it’s, you know, training?” of that is going to look very different. But I think the ultimate you’ll see is just … there were these constraints that we’ve lived with, whether it was time or or budget, in some cases. And I think those constraints are going to go away. And the promise 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 think you showed us some of the passion that you’ve talked about being the thing that gives you energy to lead organization of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, thank you so much for being here today.
AS: Thank you. was great.