Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m glad you’re here with us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, is great to be here.
SM: At Vimeo, you lead a of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, you have finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going start with a really easy question: what was it like to manage this workforce through a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught return office?
AS: Oh, it was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was challenging. You know, I think the only constant has change. And as a leader, you obviously — you have a workforce that’s looking for certainty, and they’re to control what’s happening around them. And I think what all found, as leaders, no matter what company you were … responsible for, that you couldn’t offer certainty, and you couldn’t always control the environment the things around you. And so, you know, for me, it was really about agility. How do stay flexible as a team? How do we communicate in real time keep people informed as we try and move through things? And then, also just how do we lead with humanity? You know, for Vimeo, one of the things I’ve really learned over the last few is we each experience the world so differently. We have employees who are remote. We have an team in Ukraine … employees who are on the front lines, who are literally at war. the other hand, you have people in different parts of world who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so I it was really just — the hardest part was not being 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, to more trust, because to be agile and flexible, and to lead humanity, you have to trust each other. And so, I’m sort of optimistic actually 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, perhaps during pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust or create a greater sense community or even to communicate that there is no certainty, that is a muscle that you you’ll continue to use in the organization far into 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 this sincerely — one of the hardest parts, when you’re all of disparate, is you lose context and you lose nuance when you communicate. And we did make a effort to move away from email and chat, text-based communication, as as possible, and actually try, particularly for our leadership team, when we were communicating, to do it your face, and your hands and your body and your emotions. And we did that through live streaming lot of communications, recording a lot 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 introduce themselves. A lot of our meetings we’ve actually replaced with just quick 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, important thing.
Another important thing is, I think, just mechanisms to make it easier to talk about when aren’t working, because a critical part of being agile is recognizing we have an area that isn’t working. so one of the things that we do at Vimeo is we try — I do this all of my town halls, we do it in a lot of — 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 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 to change, what do we to pivot. And both of those, being more video-first in our communication and being more transparent and what’s not working, I think has been really helpful, certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I love that advice about video-first. So many of our members of our workforce live in a video world. They’re used to as a means of communication. Which brings me to my next question. You’ve talked about how the has changed. How do you see the workforce changing? What is different the young millennials, and even, now, the first wave of Gen Z into the workplace?
AS: I think it’s incredibly different. And, you know, of the things that we think about at Vimeo a lot is a lot the mechanisms and communication modes that we still use today, they’re really antiquated. They designed for a totally different environment and a totally different generation. But I a lot of differences. One of them, I think, the line between your personal life and work life is definitely blending. … If you think about personal life — look at TikTok. This generation is used consuming content, learning, engaging, in a very specific way. And if they have to come to work and to be trained on 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 going to happen. And so I think that there is sort of this — you know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” Those just fancy words for saying the way … we and interact in our personal lives is going to to work. And so I definitely think that’s an area of opportunity.
The other thing I from sort of the generation, the newest generation coming the workforce, is sort of, of course mission-driven, but I there’s a desire to really understand the “why” behind things. And one our communication mantras is we never talk about the “what” the “why.” And I think there’s a desire to — the that, well, there’s a hierarchy, or “My boss told me that this what we’re going to do” or — that, I think, is increasingly moving away, people, they don’t just want to do something because someone with formal authority told them to do it. want to 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 the “why” into we communicate and motivate people.
So those are two of the things I see, and then, know, the third I think is just flexibility. I — and this is true of all of us, but the younger generation — I think they’re looking for flexibility and they want options and choices. it’s not always easy and feasible to provide ultimate flexibility, but this where I try and orient it more to agility. How can we approaches and principles and be committed to things, but also know to question, and when to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share a few examples of that you at Vimeo have tried to really be proactive it comes to addressing or understanding what your next of employees are going to want, either in terms purpose or in terms of benefits or in terms of flexibility? Are there programs or processes you’ve 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 similar: it’s Q and As and engagement surveys, and things that. And some of the things that we’ve done, we have people and culture NPS, net promoter score, the same we have for our users, for our internal teams. But I would say one of things that we’ve really tried to do is appreciate that when we 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 is how everybody’s feeling.” what you actually — when you really dig into and truly listen and do focus groups and talk to — what you’ll find is actually there’s very different 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 the to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, this 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, I will tell you, some of the things that we’ve heard from employees changed our approach to hybrid work or travel or things like our approach to compensation or our approach to and I. So I think it’s more just like I said, agile listening, constantly really understanding what’s happening, but not everything as, like, an average or the same. And for us, it’s been particularly stark because we offices and teams in so many different countries and differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the way solve different things. And we used to have a very, of, “One Vimeo” global approach in the name of and fairness, and what we found is we have to be more localized. We do. We have to design mechanisms to support our teams in a different way, because their experiences and the world around is quite different.
So I think that’s definitely been one, and will tell you, it has involved a lot of — as an executive team 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 feel like 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, and I we will again, because we’re still figuring out the right way listen and have a dialogue with a very diverse workforce.
SM: I want to stay on to the workplace for just another moment, because another I hear from CEOs of my generation and older is a about making sure that we are not just providing our youngest employees the flexibility and the purpose that they need, but also the and the wisdom that comes, oftentimes, from being in close to a mentor or to somebody who’s done the job for many more years. What your philosophy and take on making sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: I think it’s a major that I don’t know that everyone will sort of have solution for. I think about that all the time. We have a very workforce at Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. My team is entirely distributed. So I’ve really realized the benefits of being 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 of the same kinds of learning opportunities mentorship, particularly for the youngest folks that are entering the workforce. So think it’s a challenge. One of the approaches that we’ve taking, and what’s sort of nice, is we’re modeling it at the top. So if entire executive team is distributed, that means I have learn how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship and development a whole set of new executives who have just joined. We sort of changed up the executive team almost entirely the last twelve months. So I’ve had to deal the same challenges. And we’ve had to literally — we call it our operating — we’ve had to design an operating system, as an executive team, for how we’re going to together in that environment. How do we share real-time feedback? How do create the right communication loops? And so I think, my perspective, it’s more we have to be able to it ourselves and model it and then, I think it’s a more proven mechanism for young people. I say, like many companies … I do believe that in-person collaboration really important for learning. We do have — we bring into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks to come and spend time in a room with their team, social activities, all of those things. I don’t think will go away, nor do I think they should. But, 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 able to get the same growth opportunities that we had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — the tools that you mentioned at the very beginning 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. then, because we have video tools available to us now, you know, they have an opportunity to their ideas with a large group of people, but first, of 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, know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives Matter protests, we had lot of people coming to the office feeling trauma, and feeling 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 bring their whole selves to the office, which we encourage, sometimes, they bring things, of themselves that are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always thought the responsibility of a is to empower people to do their best work and the responsibility a company is to empower our people to do their best work. And so, course, we have a real role to play in supporting things like mental-health or burnout. And, you know, the way I think, 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 provide mental-health resources or support or off. And, I think — and empathy, just empathy. think that’s really important. And I always say, to so many of 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 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 actually the root cause — that we can control Vimeo — the root cause of a lot of stress and burnout is sometimes people either don’t enough … focus, we’re asking people to do too many things or they don’t feel they’re supported in doing those things. And that, I think, is actually where we should be spending time — is how do we actually set the prioritization and focus. There’s some issue there, right? There’s root cause there that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m stressed because there’s too going on. I don’t feel equipped to solve it.” Then, should get into the “What is the detail there, 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, move sideways, you think that there are going to be stakeholders say, you know, “Out with all of this touchy-feely, the workplace-as-a-family stuff. Where are results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the pendulum has already swung pretty clearly. I mean, work 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 — I the best leaders and cultures deliver results and treat well. And I actually think, if you treat people well, with kindness and empathy, you will better results. And so, you know, for me, I think what observed over the last few years is — that part, I think, hasn’t and shouldn’t change. There were, I think, a lot of 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 what — ultimately, that’s what people need, in any case. So, you know, I sort of it as — the way you channel how you are caring towards your employees how you are empathetic, always should be in service of helping people their best work, which will deliver results, which will be good for bottom line. And you have to believe that. You have to be committed that and if you use that consistently in your decision-making, should not be a trade-off. These are not mutually things.
SM: Anjali, how have you been 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 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: I think — recently, the phrase I use lot to myself is “two things can be true, both can true.” I say this a lot. And for me, I think it as, like, “This job is hard, and it’s gotten harder.” We went at the height of the pandemic and last year, market has been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously going through ton with post-pandemic, we have a team in Ukraine going through a — all these things that have happened. And so, it’s a job, and it’s an incredibly privileged job. It’s a gift, right? And so, think for me, it’s sort of acknowledging both of those things has helped me a lot. The I’ve tried to kind of lead, has been — it’s always this way, which is, for me, it’s I have to have passion. I to have passion. I have to believe so deeply what Vimeo is doing is important and matters for world. And if I have passion, I have energy and then I will — can kind of move through anything. I have to find in my team. I feel like, especially in hard times, look back at my career and actually, some of my most fulfilling times in were when — in the hardest business situations. But it’s because it brought group of people together all on one team, and so think that’s been, you know, a really big part it. And then, yeah, like, you have to be little selfish sometimes, and take care of yourself. And I am really fortunate. think I have a great support network around me and do … My husband and I have a deal, 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 to do, that’s really important.
SM: So you talked about how hybrid work is going look very different in the future than how we it today. It’s basically in office a couple of days, from home a couple of other days. Tell us a little more about what you could potentially see that 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 going to want to work from anywhere, anywhere in the world. Even the concept of where you’re located going to change. And then the idea of like “I’m to work on this time zone” or “I’m going to attend this meeting that’s on this date” — I think that’s going to go away. And I what you’re going to find is more and more work, 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 world. And then I think leadership, leaders are going look different. Because I think it’s going to require — you think about the skill set to be a CEO 30 years ago versus what that will require now — I in the future … the skill set is going to like, “How do you communicate with diverse, global audiences and employees across time zones in a that is effective, that provides context and alignment at scale? How do you programs, whether it’s compensation, whether it’s, you know, training?” All of that is to look very different. But I think the ultimate thing you’ll see is … there were these constraints that we’ve lived with, whether it time or place or budget, in some cases. And I think those constraints going to go away. And the promise is that if are flexible and smart and we use technology in the way, that we’ll actually come away a much more evolved and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I you just showed us some of the passion that you’ve talked about as the thing that gives you energy to lead that of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, thank you so much being here today.
AS: Thank you. This was great.