Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so glad you’re with us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is great to here.
SM: At Vimeo, you lead a workforce of 1,300 worldwide — you have creatives, you have finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going to start with really easy question: what was it like to manage diverse workforce through a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught to office?
AS: Oh, it was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. know, I think the only constant has been change. And as a leader, you obviously — you a workforce that’s looking for certainty, and they’re looking to control what’s happening around them. I think what we all found, as leaders, no what company you were … responsible for, was that couldn’t offer certainty, and you couldn’t always control the and the things around you. And so, you know, me, it was really about agility. How do we flexible as a team? How do we communicate in time and keep people informed as we try and move 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 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 at war. On other hand, you have people in different parts of the world who are experiencing mental-health challenges burnout, and so I think it was really just — the part was 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 to be agile and flexible, to lead with humanity, you 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, also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: Can you give an of something that you put into place, perhaps during pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust or create greater sense of community or even to communicate that there is certainty, that is a muscle that you think you’ll continue use in the organization far into the future?
AS: There’s a of things that we did. One — and we are video platform, so I obviously have to talk about video, but I mean this sincerely — one of the parts, when you’re all sort of disparate, is you context and you lose nuance when you communicate. And we did make a concerted effort to move away 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 and your emotions. And we did that through streaming a lot of communications, recording a lot of videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. So I send … record my screen and just send a note out to people. Every hire does a video to welcome and introduce themselves. A lot of our meetings we’ve replaced with just quick video presentations. And actually, what that really did allow the humanity and the context to come through I think that helped us a lot to, kind of, close. So that was one, I think, really important thing.
Another important thing is, I think, just mechanisms to make it easier to talk about when things aren’t working, a critical part of being agile is recognizing we have an area that isn’t working. And so one the things that we do at Vimeo is we try — I do this in all of town halls, we do it in a lot of meetings — always talk about what’s working, what are our top three things, and isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind of created, think, a framework that sort of takes the stigma away talking about what’s not working. And when you make that normalized and comfortable for people, I like it’s allowed us to be more open, as 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 transparent and normalizing what’s not working, I think has been helpful, and certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I love that about being video-first. So many of our members of our live in a video world. They’re used to video as a means communication. Which brings me to my next question. You’ve talked how the organization has changed. How do you see the workforce changing? What different with the young millennials, and even, now, the wave 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 a lot of the mechanisms and communication modes that still use today, they’re really antiquated. They were designed for a totally different environment a totally different generation. But I see a lot of differences. One them, I think, is the line between your personal life and work life is blending. … If you think about your personal life — look at TikTok. This generation is to consuming content, learning, engaging, in a very specific way. if they then have to come to work and to be trained on job, read a 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going to happen, right? Or if you miss the meeting, 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 about the “consumerization of enterprise.” Those are just fancy words saying the way … we communicate and interact in personal 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 generation coming into the workforce, is sort of, of mission-driven, but I think there’s a desire to really 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 what we’re to do” or — that, I think, is increasingly away, and people, they don’t just want to do something because someone formal authority told them to do it. They want to it because they understand why it matters, why it ties to mission. And I think that that forces leaders to really bring more of the “why” how we communicate and motivate people.
So those are two the things I see, and then, you know, the third think is just flexibility. I think — and this true of all of us, but particularly the younger — I think they’re looking for flexibility and they want options choices. And it’s not always easy and feasible to provide ultimate flexibility, this is where I try and orient it more to agility. How can we have and principles and be committed to things, but also know to question, and when to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you a few examples of ways that you at Vimeo tried to really be proactive when it comes to addressing or what your next generation of employees are going to want, either in terms of purpose or in of benefits or in terms of flexibility? Are there programs or processes you’ve put place that really speak to this big sea change we’re seeing terms of values from the workforce?
AS: Firstly, of course, it’s about listening, right? And I think, like many organizations, the we’ve tried to listen and understand our workforce is similar: it’s Q and As and engagement surveys, and like that. And some of the things that we’ve done, we a people and culture NPS, net promoter score, the same way we for our users, for our internal teams. But I would say one the things that we’ve really tried to do is that when we get inputs from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look the averages. You can’t look at it all in totality and and pull out an obvious “Oh, this is how everybody’s feeling.” Because what actually — when you really dig into it and truly listen and focus groups and talk to people — what you’ll find actually there’s very different experiences and desires among your employees. so, I think for us, what we’ve really just tried do is have a bunch of different listening mechanisms then resist the urge to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, is what everyone’s feeling, let’s just do this thing as action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still kind of figuring out, but I will tell you, some of the things that we’ve heard from employees have changed our approach hybrid work or travel or even things like our to compensation or our approach to DE and I. I think it’s more just like I said, that agile listening, constantly really what’s happening, but not treating everything as, like, an or the same. And for us, it’s been particularly stark because we have and teams in so many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the we solve different things. And we used to 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. We have to design mechanisms to support teams in a very different way, because their experiences and the world around them is quite different.
So think that’s definitely been one, and I will tell you, 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 A. I feel like every leader I know has perspective on whether they do open Q and A or anonymous Q A, or real-time Q and A. We’ve changed our approach there times, and I know we will again, because we’re still figuring out the right way listen and have a dialogue with a very diverse workforce.
SM: want to stay on newcomers to the workplace for just moment, because another thing I hear from CEOs of my generation older is a concern about making sure that we are not providing our youngest employees with the flexibility and the purpose that they need, but also the training the wisdom that comes, oftentimes, from being in close proximity a mentor or to somebody who’s done the job for more years. What is your philosophy and take on making sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: think it’s a 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 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 and just more inclusive. On the flip side, there’s definitely, I think, a lack the same kinds of learning opportunities and mentorship, particularly for youngest folks that are entering the workforce. So I think it’s challenge. One of the approaches that we’ve been taking, and what’s of nice, is we’re modeling it at the top. if my entire executive team is distributed, that means have to learn how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship and for a whole set of new executives who have just joined. We have sort of up the executive team almost entirely in the last months. So I’ve had to deal with the same challenges. we’ve had to literally — we call it our system — we’ve had to design an operating system, as executive team, for how we’re going to work together that environment. How do we share real-time feedback? How do we create right communication loops? And so I think, from my perspective, it’s more we have to be able do it ourselves and model it and then, I it’s a more proven mechanism for young people. I will say, many companies … I do believe that in-person collaboration is important for learning. We do have — we bring people into an office. If you’re remote, we folks to come in and spend time in a with their team, do social activities, all of those things. I don’t they will go away, nor do I think they should. But, know, candidly, it’s an area that I don’t think we’ve really figured out and I think it’s really critical that as leaders, do that, so that this next generation is able to the same growth opportunities that we all had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — tools that you mentioned at the very beginning of our conversation, around video, can be helpful there. I’ve heard of a number of organizations that have encouraged their young people to present, as a way of having go out and find the information they need. And then, because we have video tools available us now, you know, they have an opportunity to share their ideas a large group of people, but first, kind of going through the fact-finding and research, and then sharing their ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked a little bit about 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 coming to the office feeling trauma, and feeling really personal issues bubble to the surface. I’m if you can share a little bit about how you with this increasing personal — you know, when people bring their whole selves the office, which we encourage, sometimes, they bring things, parts of that are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always thought responsibility of a leader is to empower people to do their best work and the responsibility a company is to empower our people to do their work. And so, of course, we have a real role to 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, 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 of our managers … just care. we just care, a lot of things get easier. don’t have to design a hundred mechanisms if you just have the right in place who care. At the same time, I will say what we’re realizing now, in sort this next phase, is that that’s a reactive approach and actually the root cause — that can control at Vimeo — the root cause of a lot stress and burnout is sometimes people either don’t have … 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 should spending more time — is how do we actually set the right prioritization focus. There’s some issue there, right? There’s a root cause that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m stressed because there’s much 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, one of our at Vimeo this year was “Do less, better.”
SM: the economy starts to, maybe, move sideways, do you think 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 swung pretty clearly. mean, I work in SAS, software as a service, we already went from “growth at all cost” to “profitability,” know, pendulum swing. My perspective on this — and it hasn’t — I think the best leaders and cultures deliver results and treat people well. And actually think, if you treat people well, with kindness and empathy, you get better results. And so, you know, for me, I think I observed 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 lip service or we felt pressured. And that’s not going be sustainable. But that’s not what — ultimately, that’s not people need, in any case. So, you know, I sort of it as — the way you channel how you are caring towards your employees and how you are empathetic, should be in service of helping people do their best work, which deliver results, which will be good for the bottom line. And you to believe that. You have to be committed to that if you use that consistently in your decision-making, it not be a trade-off. These are not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, how have you been taking care of yourself this period of tremendous turmoil and change, but also growth? You mentioned just had a baby. There’s a lot on your shoulders. How, as a leader, do you practice some self-care or how you make sure that you’re getting the balance you need be the most effective leader you can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase I a lot to myself is “two things can be true, both can be true.” I say this a lot. for me, I think of it as, like, “This is hard, and it’s gotten harder.” We went public at the of the pandemic and last year, market volatility has been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously going a ton with post-pandemic, we have a team in Ukraine going through a war — all things that 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 sort 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, which is, for me, it’s have to have passion. I have to have passion. have to believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing is important and matters the world. And if I have passion, I have energy then I will — I can kind of move through anything. I have to joy in my team. I feel like, especially in hard times, I back at my career and actually, some of my most times in work were when — in the hardest business situations. But it’s because brought a group of people together all on one team, and so I think that’s been, you know, really big part of it. And then, yeah, like, have to be a little selfish sometimes, and take care of yourself. And I am fortunate. I think I have a great support network around and I do … My husband and I have a deal, where on Sundays, I disappear a couple of hours. I just disappear and I walk the city and I listen to my music and whatever I need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: So you about how hybrid work is going to look very different the future than how we describe it today. It’s basically in office a couple of days, work home a couple of other days. Tell us a little bit more about what you could potentially that evolving into.
AS: I think the idea of an as a time and place completely goes away. And think it’s really going to be people are going to want to from anywhere, anywhere in the world. Even the concept of you’re located is going to change. And then the idea like “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 think what you’re going to find is more and work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going to be done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration happen asynchronously and we will be using tools and — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to basically enable that at among many people, anywhere in the world. And then I think leadership, leaders are to look different. Because I think it’s going to require — if you think about the skill set be a global CEO 30 years ago versus what that will require now — I think in the … the skill set is going to be like, “How do communicate with diverse, global audiences and employees across time in a way that is effective, that provides context and alignment at scale? How do you organize programs, it’s compensation, whether it’s, you know, training?” All of that is going to very different. But I think the ultimate thing you’ll is just … there were these constraints that we’ve lived with, whether it was time place or budget, in some cases. And I think those constraints are going go away. And the promise is that if we 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, think you just showed us some of the passion that you’ve talked as being the thing that gives you energy to lead that organization of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, thank so much for being here today.
AS: Thank you. This great.