Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so you’re here with us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, is great to be here.
SM: At Vimeo, you a workforce of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, have finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going to start a really easy question: what was it like to manage this diverse workforce a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught return office?
AS: Oh, it was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it really challenging. You know, I think the only constant has been change. And as 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 we all found, as leaders, matter 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, for me, it was about agility. How do we stay flexible as a team? How do communicate in 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, Vimeo, one of the things I’ve really learned over last few years is we each experience the world differently. We have employees who are remote. We have an incredible in Ukraine … employees who are on the front lines, who are at war. On the other hand, you have people different parts of the world who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, so I think it was really just — the hardest part was not being to give everyone certainty, not being able to just apply one-size-fits-all rule for everyone. But I ultimately think it forced us, as company, to build more trust, because to be agile and flexible, and to lead with humanity, you to trust each other. And so, I’m sort of optimistic that actually we’re emerging this time with a culture that is more flexible nimble, and also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: Can you an example of something that you put into place, perhaps during the pandemic, to communications or build trust or create a greater sense of community or even to communicate that is no certainty, that is a muscle 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 we a video platform, so 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 and you lose nuance when you communicate. And we did make concerted effort to move away from email and chat, text-based communication, as much possible, and actually try, particularly for our leadership team, when were communicating, to do it with your face, and your hands and your and your emotions. And we did that through live streaming a lot of communications, recording a of videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. So I send … I record screen and just send a note out to people. new hire does a video to welcome and introduce themselves. A lot our meetings we’ve actually replaced with just quick video presentations. actually, what that really did was allow the humanity the context to come through and I think that helped us a to, kind of, stay close. So that was one, I think, really thing.
Another important thing is, I think, just creating to make it easier to 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 things that we do at Vimeo is we try — I do this in of my town halls, we do it in a lot of meetings — is always about what’s working, what are our top three things, and isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind of created, I think, framework that sort of takes the stigma away from talking about what’s not working. And you make that normalized and comfortable for people, I feel like it’s allowed us 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, think has been really helpful, and certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I that advice about being video-first. So many of our members of our workforce live a video world. They’re used to video as a means of communication. brings me to my next question. You’ve talked about how the organization has changed. How you see the workforce changing? What is different with the young millennials, and even, now, the first of Gen Z coming into the workplace?
AS: I it’s incredibly different. And, you know, one of the things that we about at Vimeo a lot is a lot of the mechanisms communication modes that we still use today, they’re really antiquated. They were designed for a totally different and a totally different generation. But I see a of differences. One of them, I think, is the between your personal life and work life is definitely blending. … If you about your personal life — look at TikTok. This generation is used to 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 you the meeting, and you have to watch the Zoom recording of 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.” are just fancy words for saying the way … we 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 there’s a desire to really understand the “why” behind things. And one of our communication is we never talk about the “what” without the “why.” And think there’s a desire to — the idea that, well, there’s a hierarchy, or “My boss told me that is what we’re going to do” or — that, I think, is moving away, and people, they don’t just want to do something because with formal authority told them to do it. They want to do it they understand why it matters, why it ties to the mission. And I that that forces leaders to really bring more of the “why” how we communicate and motivate people.
So those are two of things I see, and then, you know, the third I think just flexibility. I think — and this is true of of us, but particularly the younger generation — I think they’re looking flexibility and they want options and choices. And it’s not always easy feasible to provide ultimate flexibility, but this is where try and orient it more to agility. How can we have and principles and be committed to things, but also when to question, and when to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share few examples of ways that you at Vimeo have to really be proactive when it comes to addressing or what your next generation of employees are going to want, in terms of purpose or in terms of benefits or in of flexibility? Are there programs or processes you’ve put in that really speak to this big sea change we’re in terms 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 like that. some of the things that we’ve done, we have a and culture NPS, net promoter score, the same way we have for our users, for internal teams. But I would say one of the things that we’ve really tried do is appreciate that when we get inputs from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t 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 you actually — when you really dig into it and truly and do focus groups and talk to people — you’ll find is actually there’s very different experiences and among your employees. And so, I think for us, what we’ve really just to do is have a bunch of different listening 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, of the things that we’ve heard from employees have changed approach to hybrid work or travel or even 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 us, it’s been particularly stark because we have offices and teams so many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the way we solve different things. we used to have a very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global approach in the name of consistency fairness, and what we found is we have to be more localized. really do. We have to design mechanisms to support our in a very different way, because their experiences and the world them is quite different.
So I think that’s definitely 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 great is our Q and A. I feel like every I know has a perspective on whether they do Q and A or anonymous Q and A, or real-time Q and A. We’ve changed our approach multiple times, and I know we will again, because we’re still figuring out the way to 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 thing hear from CEOs of my generation and older is concern about making sure that we are not just providing our youngest employees with the flexibility the purpose that they need, but also the training and wisdom that comes, oftentimes, from being in close proximity to a mentor or to somebody who’s the job for many more years. What is your philosophy and take on making that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: I think it’s a major challenge that I don’t know that everyone sort of have a solution for. I think about that all time. We have a very distributed workforce at Vimeo. We have people over eight countries. My executive team is entirely distributed. So I’ve really realized the of being able to have a distributed workforce and being able to attract and just be more inclusive. On the flip side, there’s definitely, I think, a lack of the same kinds of opportunities and mentorship, particularly for the youngest folks that are entering the workforce. So I think it’s a challenge. of the approaches that we’ve been taking, and what’s of nice, is we’re modeling it at the top. So if my executive team is distributed, that means I have to how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship and development for a whole set of new executives who just joined. We have 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 our operating system — we’ve had to design an operating system, as an executive team, for how we’re to work together in that environment. How do we real-time feedback? How do we create the right communication loops? so I think, from my perspective, it’s more we to be able to do it ourselves and model it and then, I think it’s a more proven for young people. I will say, like many companies … do believe that in-person collaboration is really important for learning. do have — we bring people into an office. If you’re remote, we folks to come in and spend time in a room their team, do social activities, all of those things. I don’t think they will go away, nor do I think should. But, you know, candidly, it’s an area that I don’t think we’ve figured out perfectly and I think it’s really critical that as leaders, do that, so that this next generation is able to get the growth opportunities that we all had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — the tools that you mentioned the very beginning of our conversation, around video, can be really helpful there. I’ve heard of number of organizations that have really encouraged their young to present, as a way of having to go and find the information they need. And then, because have video tools available to us now, you know, they an opportunity to share their ideas with a large group of people, but first, of going through the fact-finding and the research, and 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 people coming to the office feeling trauma, and feeling personal issues bubble to the surface. I’m wondering if you share a little bit about how you deal with increasing personal — you know, when people bring their whole selves the office, which we encourage, sometimes, they bring things, parts themselves that are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always thought the responsibility of a leader to empower people to do their best work and the responsibility of a company is to empower our to do their best work. And so, of course, have a real role to play in supporting things like mental-health issues burnout. And, you know, the way I think, like many companies, the we initially probably sought to do that was more, know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting by trying to 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 of our managers … just care. If we just care, a lot of things get easier. You don’t to design a hundred mechanisms if you just have the people in place who care. At the same time, will say what we’re realizing now, in sort of this phase, is that that’s a reactive approach and actually the root cause — that we can at Vimeo — the root cause of a lot of stress and burnout is sometimes 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 should be spending more time — is how do we actually set the right prioritization and focus. There’s issue there, right? There’s a root cause there that’s a “Oh, I 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 Vimeo 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 all of this touchy-feely, the workplace-as-a-family stuff. Where are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think pendulum has already swung pretty clearly. I mean, I in SAS, software as a service, so we already from “growth at all cost” to “profitability,” you know, swing. My perspective on this — and it hasn’t — I think the best leaders and cultures deliver results and treat people well. And I think, if you treat people well, with kindness and empathy, you get 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 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 see it as — the way you channel how you are caring towards your employees and you are empathetic, always should be in service of helping do their best work, which will deliver results, which will be good for bottom line. And you have to believe that. You have to committed to that and if you use that consistently in your decision-making, it should not a trade-off. These are not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, have you been taking care of yourself during this 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, you practice some self-care or how do you make sure that you’re getting balance you need to be the most effective leader you be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase I use a lot to myself “two things can be true, both can be true.” I say this lot. And for me, I think of it as, like, “This is hard, and it’s gotten harder.” We went public at height of the pandemic and last year, market volatility been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously going through a ton with post-pandemic, 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 job. It’s a gift, right? And so, I think me, it’s sort of acknowledging both of those things has helped me a lot. way 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 have to have passion. have to 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 times in work were when — in the hardest situations. But it’s because it brought a group of people together all on one team, and so I that’s been, you know, a really big part of it. And then, yeah, like, you have to be little selfish sometimes, and take care of yourself. And am really fortunate. I think I have a great support network around and I do … My husband and I have a deal, where Sundays, I disappear for a couple of hours. I disappear and I walk around the city and I listen to my music and whatever I need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: So you talked about hybrid work is going to look very different in the future than we describe it today. It’s basically in office a couple of days, work home a couple of other days. Tell us a bit more about what you could potentially see that evolving into.
AS: I think the idea an office as a time and place completely goes away. And I think it’s really going be people are going to want to work from anywhere, in the 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 this date” — I think that’s to go away. And I think what you’re going to is more and more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is to be done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously we will 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 to 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 think in future … the skill set is going to be like, “How do you communicate with diverse, 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 the ultimate 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 I think constraints are going to go away. And the promise is that we are flexible and smart and we use technology in the right way, we’ll actually come away a much more evolved and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I think you 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 worldwide. Anjali, thank you so much for being here today.
AS: Thank you. was great.