Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m glad you’re here with us today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is to be 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 start with a really easy question: what was it like to this diverse workforce through a global pandemic, a racial and a very fraught return 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 leader, you obviously — you have a workforce that’s for certainty, and they’re looking to control 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 around you. And so, you know, for me, it was really agility. How do we stay flexible as a team? How do we communicate real 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 last few years is each experience the world so differently. We have employees are remote. We have an incredible team in Ukraine … employees are on the front lines, who are literally at war. On the hand, you have people in different parts of the world who experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so I think was really just — the hardest part was not being able to give 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 build more trust, because to be agile flexible, and to lead with humanity, you have to trust each other. And so, I’m of optimistic that actually we’re emerging from this time a culture that is more flexible and nimble, and also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: Can you give an example something that you put into place, perhaps during the pandemic, enhance communications or build trust or create a greater of community or even to communicate that there is no certainty, that is a muscle you think you’ll continue to use in the organization far the future?
AS: There’s a couple of things that did. One — and we are a video platform, so I obviously have 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 a concerted effort 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 with your face, and your hands and your body and your emotions. And we did that through live a lot of communications, recording a lot of videos. We 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 of our meetings we’ve actually replaced just quick video presentations. And actually, what that really did was allow the humanity and the context come through and I think that helped us a lot to, kind of, stay close. that was one, I think, really important thing.
Another important thing is, think, just creating mechanisms to make it easier to talk about things aren’t working, because a critical part of being agile is recognizing we have area that isn’t working. And so one of the that we do at Vimeo is we try — I do this in all of my halls, we do it in a lot of meetings — is always talk what’s working, what are our top three things, and isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind of created, I think, a framework that sort of takes the stigma away talking about what’s not working. And when you make normalized and comfortable for people, I feel like it’s allowed us be more open, as an organization, about what do need to change, what do we need to pivot. 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, and certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: love that advice about being video-first. So many of members of our workforce live in a video world. They’re used to as a means of communication. Which brings me to my question. You’ve talked about how the organization has changed. How do you see the workforce changing? What different with the young millennials, and even, now, the first wave of Gen coming into the workplace?
AS: I think it’s incredibly different. And, know, one of the things that we think about at Vimeo lot is a lot 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 see lot of differences. One of them, I think, is the line between your personal life and work is definitely blending. … If you think about your personal life — look TikTok. This generation is used to consuming content, learning, engaging, a very specific way. And if they then have to come to work and to be on a job, read a 300-page manual? Like, it’s going to happen, right? Or if you miss the meeting, and you have to watch 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 our personal lives is going to translate to work. And so I definitely that’s an area of opportunity.
The other thing I see from sort of generation, the newest generation coming into the workforce, is sort of, course mission-driven, but I think there’s a desire to understand the “why” behind things. And one of our communication mantras is 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 this is what we’re going to do” or — that, think, is increasingly moving away, and people, they don’t just want to do something because someone with authority told them to do it. They want to do it because understand why it matters, why it ties to the mission. And think that that forces leaders to really bring more of the “why” into we communicate and motivate people.
So those are two of the things see, and then, you know, the third I think is flexibility. I think — and this is true of all of us, but particularly younger generation — I think they’re looking for flexibility they want options and choices. And it’s not always and feasible to provide ultimate flexibility, but this is where I try orient it more to agility. How can we have approaches and and be committed to things, but also know when to question, and when to pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share a few examples of ways that at Vimeo have tried to really be proactive when comes to addressing or understanding what your next generation employees are going to want, either in terms of purpose in terms of benefits or in terms of flexibility? there programs or processes you’ve put in place that speak to this big sea change we’re seeing in of values from the workforce?
AS: Firstly, of course, it’s all about listening, right? And think, like many organizations, the way we’ve tried to listen and understand our workforce very similar: it’s Q and As and engagement surveys, and things like that. And of the things that we’ve done, we have a and culture NPS, net promoter score, the same way 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 we get inputs from our employees, 1,300 employees … can’t look at the averages. You can’t look at it all in totality and try and out an obvious “Oh, this is how everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — you really dig into it and truly listen and focus groups and talk to people — what you’ll is actually 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 a bunch different listening mechanisms and then resist the urge to pull, like, “Oh, this is what everyone’s feeling, let’s do this thing as the action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still kind of it out, but I will tell you, some of things that we’ve heard from employees have changed our approach to hybrid or travel or even things like our approach to compensation our approach to DE and I. So I think it’s just like I said, that agile listening, constantly really understanding what’s happening, but not treating as, like, an average or the same. And for us, it’s been particularly stark because we have offices and in so many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, the way we solve different things. And we used have a very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global approach in the name of consistency and fairness, and what we is we have to be more localized. We really do. We have to design to support our teams in a very different way, because their experiences and the around them is quite different.
So I think that’s definitely been one, and I will you, it has involved a lot of — as an team and leadership team — it’s involved a lot trying things, it not working, and changing them. And great example is our Q and A. I feel every leader I know has a perspective on whether they do open Q and A anonymous Q and 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: I want to stay newcomers to the workplace for just another moment, because another I hear from CEOs of my generation and older is a concern about making sure that are not just providing our youngest employees with the flexibility and the purpose they need, but also the training and the wisdom comes, oftentimes, from being in close proximity to a or to somebody who’s done the job for many years. What is your philosophy and take on making sure that knowledge transfer happening?
AS: I think it’s a major challenge that I don’t that everyone will sort of have a solution for. I think that all the time. We have a very distributed workforce Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. My executive team is entirely distributed. So I’ve really the benefits of being able to have a distributed 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 and mentorship, particularly the 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 I to learn how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship and development for a 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 operating system — we’ve had to design an system, as an executive team, for how we’re going work together in that environment. How do we share real-time feedback? How do create the right communication loops? And so I think, from my perspective, it’s we have to be able to do it ourselves and it and then, I think it’s a more proven mechanism for young people. I will say, many companies … I do believe that in-person collaboration really important for learning. We do have — we bring people into an office. you’re remote, we ask folks to come in and spend time in a with their team, do social activities, all of those things. I don’t think they will go away, nor do think 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, do that, so that this next generation is able to get 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 of a number of organizations have really encouraged their young people 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 a large group of people, but first, kind of going through the fact-finding the research, and then sharing their ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked a bit about mental illness and the different things that people are to work, whether it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives Matter protests, had a lot of people coming to the office feeling trauma, feeling really personal issues bubble to the surface. I’m if you can share a 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, parts themselves that are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always the responsibility of a leader is to empower people to do their best work and the responsibility of company is to empower our people to do their best work. And so, course, we have a real role to play in supporting things mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the way I think, many companies, the way we initially probably sought to do that was more, you know, you’re a problem and you’re reacting by trying to provide mental-health or support or time off. And, I think — and empathy, empathy. I think that’s really important. And I always say, so many of our 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 realizing now, sort of this next phase, is that that’s a approach and actually the root cause — that we control at Vimeo — the root cause of a lot of and burnout is sometimes people either don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking people to too many things or they don’t feel like they’re supported doing those things. And that, I think, is actually we should be spending more time — is how do actually set the right prioritization and focus. There’s some there, right? There’s a root cause there that’s a “Oh, I feel I’m stressed because there’s too much going on. I don’t equipped to solve it.” Then, we should get into the “What is 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 economy 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, workplace-as-a-family stuff. Where are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the has already swung pretty clearly. I mean, I work in SAS, software a service, so we already went from “growth at all cost” to “profitability,” know, pendulum swing. My perspective on this — and it hasn’t changed — think the best leaders and cultures deliver results and people well. And I actually think, if you treat people well, kindness and empathy, you will get better results. And so, you know, for me, I think what observed over the last few years is — that part, think, hasn’t changed and shouldn’t change. There were, I think, a lot of times when companies, we did things because 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 you how you are caring towards your employees and how you are empathetic, should be in service of helping people do their best work, which will results, which will be good for the bottom line. And have to believe that. You have to be committed to that and you use that consistently in your decision-making, it should not be trade-off. These are not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, how have you taking care of yourself during 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 do you make sure that you’re getting the balance you to be the most effective leader you can be?
AS: think — recently, the phrase I use a lot to is “two things can be true, both can be true.” I say this lot. And for me, I think of it as, like, “This job is hard, it’s gotten harder.” We went public at the height the pandemic and last year, market volatility has been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously through a ton with post-pandemic, we have a team in Ukraine going through a war — all these 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 helped me a lot. The way I’ve tried to kind lead, has been — it’s always been this way, is, for me, it’s I have to have passion. have to have passion. I have to believe so deeply that Vimeo is doing is important and matters for the world. And if I have passion, I have and then I will — I can kind of 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 fulfilling times in were when — in the hardest business situations. But it’s because it brought a group of people together 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 yourself. And I am really fortunate. I think I have a great support network around me and do … My husband and I have a deal, where on Sundays, I for a couple of hours. I just disappear and I walk around the city and I listen to my and do whatever I need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: So talked about how hybrid work is going to look very different the future than how we describe it today. It’s basically office a couple of days, work from home a couple of days. Tell us a little bit more about what could potentially see that evolving into.
AS: I think the idea an office as a time and place completely goes away. I think it’s really going to be people are going to 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 going work on this time zone” or “I’m going to this meeting that’s scheduled on this date” — I that’s going to go away. And I think what you’re going to find is more and more work, particularly knowledge workers, is going to be done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously we will be using tools and technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to enable that at scale among many people, anywhere in the world. And then I think leadership, leaders are going to different. Because I think it’s going to require — if you think the skill set to be a global CEO 30 ago versus what that will require now — I think in the future … skill set is going to be like, “How do you communicate with diverse, global audiences and across time zones in a way that is effective, provides context and alignment at scale? How do you organize programs, it’s compensation, whether it’s, you know, training?” All of that is to look very different. But I think the ultimate you’ll see is just … there were these constraints we’ve lived with, whether it was time or place or budget, some cases. And I think those constraints are going to go away. And the promise that if we are flexible and smart and we technology in the right way, that we’ll actually come away a much more and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I think you just showed us some of the passion you’ve talked about as being the thing that gives you to lead that organization of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, thank you much for being here today.
AS: Thank you. This great.