Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so you’re here with us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is great to be here.
SM: Vimeo, you lead a workforce of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, have finance people, you have technologists. So I’m going to start with a really easy question: was it like to manage this diverse workforce through global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a very fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, it a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. You know, I think the constant has been change. And as a leader, you obviously — you have a workforce that’s looking certainty, and they’re looking 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 environment and things around you. And so, you know, for me, was really about agility. How do we stay flexible a team? How do we communicate in real time keep people informed as we try and move through things? then, also just how do we lead with more humanity? know, for Vimeo, one of the things I’ve really learned over the last years is we each experience the world so differently. We 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 world who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so I it was really just — the hardest part was being able to give everyone certainty, not being able to just apply a one-size-fits-all for everyone. But I ultimately think it forced us, a company, to build more trust, because to be and flexible, and to lead with humanity, you have to trust each other. so, I’m sort of optimistic that actually we’re emerging from this time with a culture is more flexible and nimble, and also, hopefully, has trust.
SM: Can you give an example of something that you put place, perhaps during the pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust or create a greater of community or even to communicate that there is certainty, that is a muscle that you think you’ll continue to use in the organization far 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, I mean this sincerely — one of the hardest parts, when you’re sort of disparate, is you lose context 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 as possible, and actually try, particularly our leadership team, when we were communicating, to do it with your face, and your and your body and your emotions. And we did that through streaming a lot of communications, recording a lot of videos. 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 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 recognizing we have an area that isn’t working. And one of the things that we do at Vimeo is try — I do this in all of my town halls, we do in a 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 of created, I think, a framework sort of takes the stigma away from talking about what’s not working. And when you make normalized and comfortable for people, I feel like it’s allowed us to be open, as an organization, about what do we need 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 forward.
SM: I love that advice about being video-first. many of our members of our workforce live in a video world. They’re used to video as means of communication. Which 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, even, now, the first wave of Gen Z coming 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 of the mechanisms and communication modes that we still today, they’re really antiquated. They were designed for a different environment and a totally different generation. But I a lot of differences. One of them, I think, is the line between your personal life and life is definitely blending. … If you think about 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 a job, read a 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going to happen, right? if you miss the meeting, and you have to watch the recording of a three-hour meeting — that’s just not going happen. And so I think that there is definitely sort of this — know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” Those just fancy words for saying the way … we communicate and interact in our personal lives is to translate to work. And so I definitely think that’s an of opportunity.
The other thing I see from sort of the generation, the newest coming into the workforce, is sort of, of course mission-driven, but think there’s a desire to really understand the “why” behind things. And of our communication mantras is we never talk about “what” without the “why.” And I think there’s a desire to — the that, well, there’s a hierarchy, or “My boss told me that is what we’re going to do” or — that, think, is increasingly moving away, and people, they don’t just to do something because someone 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 the I see, and then, you know, the third I is just flexibility. I think — and this is true of all of us, particularly the younger generation — I think they’re looking for and they want options and choices. And it’s not always easy and to provide ultimate flexibility, but this is where I try and orient it more to agility. How can we approaches and principles and be committed to things, but also know when 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 when it comes to addressing or understanding what your next generation of employees going to want, either in terms of purpose or in of benefits or in terms of flexibility? Are there or processes you’ve put in place that really speak this big sea change we’re seeing in terms of values from workforce?
AS: Firstly, of course, it’s all about listening, right? And I think, like organizations, the way we’ve tried to listen and understand our workforce is very similar: it’s Q and and engagement surveys, and things like that. And some of the things 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 things that we’ve really tried to do is appreciate that when we get from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look the averages. You can’t look at it all in and try and pull out an obvious “Oh, this how everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — when you really dig it and truly listen and do focus groups and talk to people — what you’ll find is there’s very different experiences and desires among your employees. And so, I think us, what we’ve really just tried to do is have bunch of different listening 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.” it’s hard, and we’re still kind of figuring it out, I will tell you, some of the things that we’ve from employees have changed our approach to hybrid work travel or even things like our approach to compensation or our approach to DE and I. So think it’s more 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 stark because we have offices and teams in so different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the way solve different things. And we used to have a very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global approach in the name consistency and fairness, and what we found is we have to be more localized. We really do. We to design mechanisms to support our teams in a very different way, because experiences and the world around them is quite different.
So I that’s definitely been one, and I will tell you, it has involved a lot — as an executive team and leadership team — it’s involved a lot of things, it not working, and changing them. And a great example is our Q A. I feel like every leader I know has a perspective on whether do open Q and A or anonymous Q and A, or real-time and A. We’ve changed our approach there multiple times, and know we will again, because we’re still figuring out the right way to listen and a dialogue with a very diverse workforce.
SM: I want to stay on newcomers to the for just another moment, because another thing I hear from CEOs of my and older is a concern about making sure that we not just providing our youngest employees with the flexibility and the purpose that they need, but also the and the wisdom that comes, oftentimes, from being in proximity to a mentor or to somebody who’s done job for many more years. What is your philosophy and 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 a for. I think about that all the time. We have a distributed workforce at Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. My executive team 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. On 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 I think it’s a challenge. One of the approaches we’ve been taking, and what’s sort 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 development for a whole of new executives who have just joined. We have sort changed up the executive team almost entirely in the last twelve months. So I’ve had deal with the same challenges. And we’ve had to — we call it our operating system — we’ve had 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? do we create the right communication loops? And so I think, from perspective, it’s more we have to be able to do 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 is really important for learning. We do have — we people into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks to in and spend time in a room with their team, do social activities, all those things. I don’t think they will go away, do I think they should. But, you know, candidly, it’s area that I don’t think we’ve really figured out perfectly and I think it’s critical that as leaders, we do that, so that this generation is 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 of conversation, around video, can be really helpful there. I’ve heard a number of organizations that have really encouraged their young to present, as a way of having to go out and find information they need. And then, because we have video available to us now, you know, they have an opportunity to share their ideas with large group of people, but first, kind of going through the fact-finding and the research, and then their ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked a little about mental illness and the different things that people are bringing to work, it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives protests, we had a lot of people coming to the office feeling trauma, and really personal issues bubble to the surface. I’m wondering if you can share a little bit about how deal with this increasing personal — you know, when people bring their whole selves to office, which we encourage, sometimes, they bring things, parts 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 of a is to empower our people to do their best work. so, of course, we have a real role to play supporting things like mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the way think, like many companies, the way we initially probably sought to that was more, you know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting by trying to provide mental-health resources 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 get easier. You don’t to design a hundred mechanisms if you just have the right people in place who care. the same time, I will say what we’re realizing now, sort of this next phase, is that that’s a approach and actually the root cause — that we can control at — the root cause of a lot of stress and is sometimes people either don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking people to do too things or they don’t feel like they’re supported in doing those things. And that, I think, is where we should be spending more time — is how do we set the right prioritization 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. I don’t 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, of our themes at Vimeo this year was “Do less, better.”
SM: the economy starts to, maybe, move sideways, do you think that there going to be stakeholders who say, you know, “Out with of this touchy-feely, the workplace-as-a-family stuff. Where are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. think the pendulum has already swung pretty clearly. I mean, I in SAS, software as a service, so we already went from “growth all cost” to “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. My perspective on this — and it hasn’t — I think the best leaders and cultures deliver and treat people well. And I actually think, if you treat people well, with and empathy, you will get better results. And so, you know, for me, I think what I observed the last few years is — that part, I think, hasn’t changed shouldn’t change. There were, I think, a lot of times companies, we did things because maybe it was lip service or we 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 of see as — the way you channel how you are caring your employees and how you are empathetic, always should in service of helping people do their best work, will deliver results, which will be good for the line. And you have to believe that. You have to be committed to and 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 been taking care of yourself during this period of tremendous turmoil and change, but growth? You mentioned you just had a baby. There’s a lot on your shoulders. How, as leader, do you practice some self-care or how do you sure that you’re getting the balance you need to the most effective leader you can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase I use a to myself is “two things can be true, both can be true.” say this a lot. And for me, I think of as, like, “This job is hard, and it’s gotten harder.” went public at the height of the pandemic and last year, volatility has been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously going through a with post-pandemic, we have a team in Ukraine going a war — all these things that have happened. so, it’s a hard job, and it’s an incredibly privileged job. It’s a gift, right? And so, I for me, it’s sort of acknowledging both of those things helped me a lot. The way I’ve tried to of lead, has been — it’s always been this way, which is, for me, it’s I have have passion. I have to have passion. I have to believe so that what Vimeo is doing is important and matters for world. And if I have passion, I have energy then I will — I can kind of move anything. I have to find joy in my team. I feel like, in hard times, I look back at my career and actually, some my most fulfilling times in work were when — the hardest business situations. But it’s because it brought 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 really fortunate. think I have a great support network around me and I do … husband and I have a deal, where on Sundays, disappear for a couple of hours. I just disappear and I walk around the city and I listen my music and do whatever I need to do, that’s really important.
SM: So you talked about how hybrid work is to look very different in the future than how we describe it today. It’s basically in office couple of days, work from home a couple of days. Tell us a little bit more about what you could potentially that evolving into.
AS: I think the idea of an office as a and place completely goes away. And I think it’s really going to be people are going want to work from anywhere, anywhere in the world. Even the of where you’re located is going to change. And the idea of like “I’m going to work on time zone” or “I’m going to attend this meeting that’s scheduled 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 will happen asynchronously and we will be using tools technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to enable that at scale among many people, anywhere in world. And then I think leadership, leaders are going to look different. Because I think it’s to require — if you think about the skill set to be a global CEO 30 years versus what that will require now — I think in the future … the skill set is to be like, “How do you communicate with diverse, global audiences and employees across time in a way that is effective, that provides context and alignment scale? How do you organize programs, whether it’s compensation, it’s, you know, training?” All of that is going to look different. But I think the ultimate thing you’ll see is just … there these constraints that we’ve lived with, whether it was time place or budget, in some cases. And I think those constraints are going to go away. And promise is that if we are flexible and smart we use technology in the right way, that we’ll actually come a much more evolved and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I you just showed us some of the passion that you’ve about as being the thing that gives you energy to that organization of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, thank you so much for being here today.
AS: Thank you. was great.