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 of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, you finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going to start a really easy question: what was it like to this diverse workforce through a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very return to office?
AS: Oh, it was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it really challenging. You know, I think the only constant has been change. And a leader, you obviously — you have a workforce that’s looking for certainty, they’re looking to control what’s happening around them. And I what we all found, as leaders, no matter what you were … responsible for, was that you couldn’t certainty, and you couldn’t always control the environment and things around you. And so, you know, for me, it was really agility. How do we stay flexible as a team? How do we communicate real time and keep people informed as we try and move through things? And then, also how do we lead with more humanity? You know, for Vimeo, of the things I’ve really learned over the last few years is 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 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 able to just apply a one-size-fits-all rule for everyone. But ultimately think it forced us, as a company, to more trust, because to be agile and flexible, and to lead humanity, you have to trust each other. And so, I’m of optimistic that actually we’re emerging from this time a culture that is more flexible and nimble, and also, hopefully, more 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 even to communicate that there is no certainty, that a muscle that you think you’ll continue to use in the organization far the future?
AS: There’s a couple of things that did. One — and we are a video platform, I obviously have to talk about video, but I mean this sincerely — one the 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 try, particularly for our leadership team, when we were communicating, to do it your face, and your hands and your body and emotions. And we did that through live streaming a lot communications, recording 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 to 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 to come through and think that helped us a lot to, kind of, close. So that was one, I think, really important thing.
Another important is, I think, just creating mechanisms to make it easier talk about when things aren’t working, because a critical part of agile is recognizing we have an area that isn’t working. And so one of the things that do at Vimeo is we try — I do this in all of my town halls, we do 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 of created, I think, a framework that sort of the stigma away from talking about what’s not working. And when make that normalized and comfortable for people, I feel like it’s allowed to be more open, as an organization, about what do we to change, what do we need to pivot. And both of those, being video-first in our communication and being more transparent and normalizing what’s not working, I think has been really helpful, and something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I love that advice about being video-first. So many of our of 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 the workforce changing? What is different with the young millennials, and even, now, the first wave Gen Z coming into the workplace?
AS: I think it’s incredibly different. And, you know, one the things that we think about at Vimeo a lot is a lot of the mechanisms and communication modes we still use today, they’re really antiquated. They were designed for a totally different environment and a different generation. But I see a lot of differences. One of them, I think, is the between your personal life and work life is definitely blending. … If you think about your personal — look at TikTok. This generation is used to consuming content, learning, engaging, in very specific way. And if they then have to to work and to be trained on a job, a 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going to happen, right? if you miss the meeting, and you have to watch the Zoom recording of a three-hour — that’s just not going to happen. And so I think there is definitely sort of this — you know, we talk about the “consumerization enterprise.” Those are just fancy words for saying the way … we communicate and interact in our lives is going to translate to work. And so I definitely think that’s an area of opportunity.
The thing I see from sort of the generation, the newest generation coming into the workforce, sort of, of course mission-driven, but I think there’s a desire to understand the “why” behind things. And one of our communication is we never talk about the “what” without the “why.” I think there’s a desire to — the idea that, well, there’s hierarchy, or “My boss told me that this is we’re going to do” or — that, I think, 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 leaders to really bring more of the “why” into we communicate 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 all of us, but particularly the generation — I think they’re looking for flexibility and want options and choices. And 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 to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share a few examples ways that you at Vimeo have tried to really proactive when it comes to addressing or understanding what your next generation employees are going to want, either in terms of 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 sea change we’re seeing in of values from the workforce?
AS: Firstly, of course, it’s 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 and As and surveys, and things like that. And some of the things that we’ve done, we have a people and NPS, net promoter score, the same way we have for our users, our internal teams. But I would say one of the things we’ve really tried to do is appreciate that when get inputs from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look at the averages. can’t look at it all in totality and try pull out an obvious “Oh, this is how everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — 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 mechanisms and then resist the urge to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, 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, 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 approach to DE and I. So I think it’s just like I said, that agile listening, constantly really understanding what’s happening, but treating everything as, like, an average or the same. And for us, it’s been particularly because we have offices and teams in so many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, 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 we have to be more localized. We really do. have to design mechanisms to support our teams in a very different way, because their and the world around them is quite different.
So I think that’s definitely been one, and I will you, it has involved a lot of — as an executive team leadership team — it’s involved a lot of trying things, it not working, and them. And a great example is our Q and A. I feel like every leader I know has a on whether they do open Q and A or anonymous Q 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 the right way to listen and have a dialogue a very diverse workforce.
SM: I want to stay on newcomers the workplace for just another moment, because another thing I hear CEOs of my generation and older is a concern about making sure that 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 the job many more years. What is your philosophy and take 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 about that all the time. We a very distributed workforce at Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. executive team is entirely distributed. So I’ve really realized the benefits of being able have a distributed workforce and being able to attract talent just be more inclusive. On the flip side, there’s definitely, I think, a lack the same kinds of learning opportunities and mentorship, particularly the youngest folks that are entering the workforce. So I it’s a challenge. One of the approaches that 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 have to learn how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship 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 had to with the same challenges. And we’ve had to literally — we call it our system — we’ve had to design an operating system, as an team, for how we’re going to work together in environment. How do we share real-time feedback? How do we the right communication loops? And so I think, from my perspective, it’s more we have to able to do it ourselves and model it and then, I think it’s a more proven mechanism young people. I will say, like many companies … I do believe in-person collaboration is really important for learning. We do have — bring people into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks to come in 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 that I don’t think we’ve really out perfectly and I think it’s really critical that leaders, we do that, so that this next generation is able to get the same growth opportunities we all had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — tools that you mentioned at the very beginning of our conversation, around video, can really helpful there. I’ve heard of a number of organizations that have really encouraged young people to present, as a way of having to out and find the information they need. And then, because we have video tools to us now, you know, they have an opportunity to share ideas with a large group of people, but first, kind going through the fact-finding and the research, and then sharing ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked a little bit mental illness and the different things that people are bringing to work, whether it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. the Black Lives Matter protests, we had a lot of people coming to the office trauma, and feeling really personal issues bubble to the surface. I’m wondering if you can share a bit about how you deal with this increasing personal — know, when people bring their whole selves to the office, we encourage, sometimes, they bring things, parts of themselves are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always thought the of a leader is to empower people to do best work and the responsibility of a company is to empower our people to their best work. And so, of course, we have a real role to play in supporting things mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the way think, like many companies, the way we initially probably to do that was more, you know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting by 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 … just care. If we just care, a of things get easier. You don’t have to design hundred mechanisms if you just have the right people place who care. At the same time, I will say we’re realizing now, in sort of this next phase, is that’s a reactive approach and actually the root cause — that we control at Vimeo — the root cause of a lot of stress and burnout is sometimes people don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking people to too many things or they don’t feel like they’re in doing those things. And that, I think, is actually where we should be spending more — is how do we actually set the right and focus. There’s some issue there, right? There’s a cause there that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m stressed because there’s too much going on. don’t feel equipped to solve it.” Then, we should get the “What is the detail there, and do we to do things differently?” And, you know, one of our themes at this year was “Do less, better.”
SM: As the economy starts to, maybe, move sideways, do think that there are going to be stakeholders who say, you know, “Out with all of this touchy-feely, workplace-as-a-family stuff. Where are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the pendulum has already pretty clearly. I mean, I work in SAS, software as a service, so we already from “growth at all cost” to “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. My perspective on — and it hasn’t changed — I think the leaders and cultures deliver results and treat people well. And I think, if you treat people well, with kindness and empathy, you will better results. And so, you know, for me, I think what I observed over the few years is — that part, I think, hasn’t and shouldn’t change. There were, I think, a lot of times when companies, we did things maybe it was lip service or we 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, you know, I sort see it as — the way you channel how you are caring your employees and how you are empathetic, always should be in service of helping do their best work, which will deliver results, which will be good for the bottom line. you have to believe that. You have to be committed to that if you use that consistently in your decision-making, it should be a trade-off. These are 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 a baby. There’s a lot on your shoulders. How, as leader, do you practice some self-care or how do make sure that you’re getting the balance you need to be the most effective leader can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase I use a to myself is “two things can be true, both can be true.” I say a lot. And for me, I think of it as, like, “This is hard, and it’s gotten harder.” We went public at the height of pandemic and last year, market volatility has been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously going through a ton with post-pandemic, we have team in Ukraine going through a war — all these things that happened. And so, it’s a 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 tried kind of lead, has been — it’s always been this way, is, for me, it’s I have to have passion. I have to have passion. I have believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing is important and matters for the world. if I have passion, I have energy and then I will — I can kind move through anything. I have to find joy in my team. I feel like, especially hard times, I look back at my career and actually, some of my most fulfilling times in work were — in the hardest business situations. But it’s because it a group of people together all on one team, and 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 have a deal, where on Sundays, I disappear for a couple of hours. just disappear and I walk around the city and listen to my music and do whatever I need 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 other days. Tell us little bit more about what you could potentially see evolving into.
AS: I think the idea of an office a time and place completely goes away. And I it’s really going to be people are going to to work from anywhere, anywhere in the world. Even the of where you’re located is going to change. And then the idea of “I’m going to work on this time zone” or “I’m going to attend meeting 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 knowledge workers, going to be done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously and we be using tools and technology — whether it’s video, it’s AI — to basically enable that at scale among people, anywhere in the world. And then I think leadership, leaders are going to look different. Because think it’s going to require — if you think about the skill set to a global CEO 30 years ago versus what that require now — I think in the future … skill set is going to be like, “How do you with diverse, global audiences and employees across time zones in a way that is effective, 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 ultimate you’ll see is just … there were these constraints we’ve lived with, whether it was time or place or budget, in some cases. And I think those are going to go away. And the promise is that if are flexible and smart and we use technology in right way, that we’ll actually come away a much evolved and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I think you just showed some of the passion that you’ve talked about as the thing that gives you energy to lead that organization of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, you so much for being here today.
AS: Thank you. This great.