Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so you’re here with us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is great to here.
SM: At Vimeo, you lead a workforce of 1,300 people worldwide — you creatives, you have finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going to start with a really question: what was it like to manage this diverse through a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, it was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. You know, I think the constant has been change. And as a leader, you — you have a workforce that’s looking for certainty, and they’re looking to what’s happening around them. And I think what we all found, leaders, no matter what company you were … responsible for, was that you couldn’t certainty, and you couldn’t always control the environment and the things around you. so, you know, for me, it was really about agility. How do we stay as a team? How do we communicate in real time and keep people informed as we 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 the last few years is we each experience the world differently. We have employees who are remote. We have incredible team in Ukraine … employees who are on front lines, who are literally at war. On the hand, you have people in different parts of the who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so think it was really just — the hardest part not being able to give everyone certainty, not being able to apply a one-size-fits-all rule for everyone. But I ultimately think forced us, as a company, to build more trust, to be agile and flexible, and to lead with humanity, you to trust each other. And so, I’m sort of that actually we’re emerging from this time with a culture that more flexible and nimble, and also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: Can you give an of something that 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 is a muscle that you think you’ll continue use in the organization far into the future?
AS: There’s a couple of things that did. One — and we are a video platform, so I obviously have to about video, but I mean this sincerely — one of the hardest parts, you’re all sort of disparate, is you lose context and you lose nuance you communicate. And we did make a concerted effort to move from email and chat, text-based communication, as much as possible, and try, particularly for our leadership team, when we were communicating, do it with your face, and your hands and your and your emotions. And we did that through live streaming lot of communications, recording a lot of videos. We asynchronous video messages. So I send … I record my screen and just send a note to people. Every new hire does a video to welcome and themselves. A lot of our meetings we’ve actually replaced with just quick video presentations. And actually, what really did was allow the humanity and the context to come through and I that helped us a lot to, kind of, stay close. So was one, I think, really important thing.
Another important is, I think, just creating mechanisms to make it easier to talk about things aren’t working, because a critical part of being agile is recognizing have 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 lot of meetings — is always talk about what’s working, what are our top things, and what isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind created, I think, a framework that sort of takes the stigma away from talking about what’s working. And when you make that normalized and comfortable for people, I feel it’s allowed us to be more open, as an organization, about what do we need to change, 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: love that advice about being video-first. So many of our members our workforce live in a video world. They’re used video as a means of communication. Which brings me my next question. You’ve talked about how the organization has changed. How do see the workforce changing? What is different with the millennials, and even, now, the first wave of Gen Z coming into workplace?
AS: I think it’s incredibly different. And, you know, one of the that we think about at Vimeo a lot is a of the mechanisms and communication modes that we still use today, they’re really antiquated. were designed for a totally different environment and a totally different generation. But I see lot of differences. One of them, I think, is the line between your personal life work life is definitely blending. … If you think your personal life — look at TikTok. This generation is used consuming content, learning, engaging, in a very specific way. if they then have to come to work and to be trained on a job, read 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going to happen, right? if you miss the meeting, and you have to the Zoom recording of a three-hour meeting — that’s just going to happen. And so I think that there is definitely of this — you know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” Those just fancy words for saying the way … we communicate and interact in our lives is going to translate to work. And so I definitely 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 think there’s desire to really understand the “why” behind things. And one of our mantras is we never talk about the “what” without the “why.” And I think there’s a desire — the idea that, well, there’s a hierarchy, or “My boss told that this is 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 do it. They want to do it because they understand it matters, why it ties to the mission. And I think that forces leaders to really bring more of the “why” into how communicate and motivate people.
So those are two of things I see, and then, you know, the third think is just flexibility. I think — and this is of all of us, but particularly the younger generation — I think they’re for flexibility and they want options and choices. And it’s always easy and feasible to provide ultimate flexibility, but this is where 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, you share a few examples of ways that you at Vimeo have tried to be proactive when it comes to addressing or understanding what your next generation of employees are to want, either in terms of purpose or in of benefits or in terms of flexibility? Are there programs processes you’ve put in place that really speak to this big sea change we’re seeing in terms 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 very similar: it’s Q As and engagement surveys, and things like that. And some the things that we’ve done, we have a people and culture NPS, promoter score, the same way we have for our users, our internal teams. But I would say one of the things that we’ve tried to do is appreciate that when we get inputs our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look at the averages. You can’t look at it all in and try and pull out an obvious “Oh, this is everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — when you dig into it and truly listen and do focus groups talk to people — what you’ll find is actually there’s very experiences and desires among your employees. And so, I think 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, this 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 things that we’ve heard from employees have changed our approach hybrid work or travel or even things like our approach to compensation or our approach to DE I. So I think 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 stark because we have offices and teams in so different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the way we solve things. And we used to 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 our teams in a very different way, because their and the world around them is quite different.
So think that’s definitely been one, and I will tell you, it involved a lot of — as an executive team leadership team — it’s involved a lot of trying things, not working, and changing them. And a great example is our Q and A. I feel like every I know has a 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 another moment, because another thing I hear from of my generation and older is a concern about making sure that we not just providing our youngest employees with the flexibility and the that they need, but also the training and the wisdom that comes, oftentimes, from being in close proximity a mentor or to somebody who’s done the job many more years. What is your philosophy and take on sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: I think it’s a major challenge that don’t know that everyone will sort of have a solution for. I about that all the time. We have a very distributed workforce at Vimeo. We have people over eight countries. My executive team is entirely distributed. I’ve really realized the benefits of being able to have a distributed and being able to attract talent and just be 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 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 distributed, that means I have to learn how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship development for a whole set of new executives who have joined. We have sort of changed up the executive team entirely in the last twelve months. So I’ve had deal with the same challenges. And we’ve had to literally — we call it operating system — we’ve had to design an operating system, as an executive team, how we’re going to work together in that environment. How do share real-time feedback? How do we create the right communication loops? so I think, from my perspective, it’s more we have to able to do it ourselves and model it and then, think it’s a more proven mechanism for young people. I will say, like companies … I do believe that in-person collaboration is 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, do activities, all of 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 as leaders, we do that, so that this next is able to get the same growth opportunities that we all had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — tools that you mentioned at the very beginning of conversation, around video, can be really helpful there. I’ve heard a number of organizations that have really encouraged their young people to present, as a of having to go out and find the information they need. And then, because we have video tools available to now, you know, they have an opportunity to share their with a large group of people, but first, kind of 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 is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives Matter protests, we had lot of people coming to the office feeling trauma, feeling really personal issues bubble to the surface. I’m wondering if you can share little bit about how you deal with this increasing personal — you know, people 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 a leader is to empower people to do their best work and the of 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, 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 provide mental-health or support or time off. And, I think — and empathy, just empathy. I think that’s important. And I always say, to so many of our managers … care. If we just care, a lot of things easier. You don’t have to design a hundred mechanisms if just have the right people in place who care. At same time, I will say what we’re realizing now, sort of this next phase, is that that’s a reactive approach and the root cause — that we can control at — the root cause of a lot of stress burnout is sometimes people either don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking people to do too many or they don’t feel like they’re supported in doing those things. And that, think, is actually where we should be spending more — is how do we actually set the right prioritization and focus. There’s some there, right? There’s a root cause 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 “What is the detail there, and do we need to do things differently?” And, you know, one our themes at Vimeo this year was “Do less, better.”
SM: As the starts to, maybe, move sideways, do 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, I in SAS, software as a service, so we already went from “growth at all cost” “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. My perspective on this — and it hasn’t changed — I think best leaders and cultures deliver results and treat people well. And I think, if you treat people well, with kindness and empathy, you will get better results. so, you know, for me, I think what I observed over the last years is — that part, I think, hasn’t changed and shouldn’t change. were, I think, a lot of times when companies, we things because maybe it was lip service or we felt pressured. And that’s not going to sustainable. But that’s not what — ultimately, that’s not what people need, in case. So, you know, I sort of see it as — the way channel how you are caring towards your employees and how you empathetic, always should be in service of helping people do best work, which will deliver results, which will be for the bottom line. And you have to believe that. You have to be committed to that and you use that consistently in your decision-making, it should not be a trade-off. These not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, how have you been taking care of yourself during period of tremendous turmoil and change, but also growth? mentioned you just had a baby. There’s a lot on your shoulders. How, 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, phrase I use a lot 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 job is hard, it’s gotten harder.” We went public at the height of the pandemic and last year, market has been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously going through a ton with post-pandemic, we have a in Ukraine going through a war — all these things that happened. And so, it’s a hard job, and it’s incredibly privileged job. It’s a gift, right? And so, I think for me, it’s sort 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 have to have passion. have to believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing important and matters for the world. And if I have passion, have energy and then I will — I can of move through anything. I have to find joy in my team. feel like, especially in 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 one team, and so I think that’s been, you know, a big part of it. And then, yeah, like, you have to be a selfish sometimes, and take care of yourself. And I am really fortunate. I think I have a great network around me and I do … My husband and I a deal, where on Sundays, I disappear for a couple hours. I just disappear and I walk around the city and I to my music and do whatever I need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: So you about how hybrid work is going to look very different in the future than how we describe today. It’s basically in office a couple of days, work from home couple of other days. Tell us a little bit more about what you potentially see that evolving into.
AS: I think the of an office as a time and place completely away. And I think it’s really going to be are going to want to work from anywhere, anywhere the world. Even the concept of where you’re located is going change. And then the idea of like “I’m going to work on this zone” or “I’m going to attend this meeting that’s on this date” — I think that’s going to away. And I think what you’re going to find more and more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going to done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously 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 the world. And I think leadership, leaders are going to look different. I think it’s going to require — if you think the skill set to be a global CEO 30 years ago what that will 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 that is effective, that provides context and alignment at scale? do you organize programs, whether it’s compensation, whether it’s, you know, training?” All of that is going 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 we are and smart and we use technology in the right way, that we’ll actually come away a much more evolved efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I think you just showed some of the passion that you’ve talked about as being the 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.