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 this diverse workforce through a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, it was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was challenging. You know, I think the only constant has been change. as a leader, you obviously — you have a that’s looking for certainty, and they’re looking to control what’s happening 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, me, it was really about agility. How do we stay as a team? How do we communicate in real time and keep informed as we try and move through things? And then, just how do we lead with more humanity? You know, for Vimeo, one the things I’ve really learned over the last few years is we each the world so differently. We have employees who are remote. We have an incredible team in Ukraine … who are on the front lines, who are literally war. On the other hand, you have people in parts of the world who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, so I think 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 rule everyone. But I ultimately think it forced us, as company, to build more trust, because to be agile and flexible, and lead with humanity, you have to trust each other. And so, I’m of optimistic that actually we’re emerging from this time with a culture that more flexible and nimble, and also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: you give an example of 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 muscle that you think you’ll continue to use in the organization far into the future?
AS: There’s a couple things that we did. One — and we are a video platform, so 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 context and you nuance when you communicate. And we did make a effort to move away from email and chat, text-based communication, much as possible, and actually try, particularly for our leadership team, when we communicating, to do it with your face, and your hands and your body your emotions. And we did that through live streaming a lot of communications, recording lot of videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. So I … I record my screen and just send a note out people. Every new hire does a video to welcome and themselves. A lot of our meetings we’ve actually replaced with quick video presentations. And actually, what that really did allow the humanity and the context to come through and I think 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 is recognizing we have an area that isn’t working. And so of the things that we do at Vimeo is we try — I do in all of my town halls, we do it in a lot of meetings — always talk about what’s working, what are our top three things, what isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind of created, I think, a framework that sort takes the stigma away from talking about what’s not working. And when you that normalized and comfortable for people, I feel like it’s us to be more open, as an organization, about what we need to change, what do we need to pivot. And both of those, being video-first in our communication and being more transparent and what’s not working, I think has been really helpful, and certainly we’re carrying forward.
SM: I love that advice about being video-first. many of our members of our workforce live in a video world. They’re to video as a means of communication. Which brings me to my question. You’ve talked about how the organization has changed. How do you the workforce changing? What is 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, you know, one of things that we think about at Vimeo a lot is a of the mechanisms and communication modes that we still use today, they’re antiquated. They were designed for a totally different environment and a totally different generation. But I a lot of differences. One of them, I think, is line between your personal life and work life is 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 come to work and to be trained on a job, a 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 a three-hour meeting — that’s just not to happen. And so I think that there is definitely sort of — you know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” are just fancy words for saying the way … we communicate interact in our personal lives is going to translate work. And so I definitely think that’s an area of opportunity.
The other thing I see from sort the generation, the newest generation coming into the workforce, sort of, of course mission-driven, but I think there’s a desire really understand the “why” behind things. And one of our communication mantras we never talk about the “what” without the “why.” And I there’s a desire to — the idea that, well, there’s a hierarchy, “My boss told me that this is what we’re going do” or — that, I think, is increasingly moving away, and people, they don’t just want do something because someone with formal authority told them do it. They want to do it because they why it matters, why it ties to the mission. And think that that forces leaders to really bring more of “why” into how we communicate and motivate people.
So those two of the things I see, and then, you know, the third I think is just flexibility. I — and this is true of all of us, but particularly younger generation — I think they’re looking for flexibility and they want options choices. And it’s not always easy and feasible to ultimate flexibility, but this is where I try and orient it more agility. How can we have 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 ways you at Vimeo have tried to really be proactive when it comes to addressing or understanding what next generation of employees are going to want, either in terms of or in terms of benefits or in terms of flexibility? there programs or processes you’ve put in place that really speak to this big sea change we’re seeing terms 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 and understand our workforce is very similar: it’s Q As and engagement surveys, and things like that. And some of the things we’ve done, we have a people and culture NPS, net promoter score, same way we have for our users, for our teams. But I would say one of the things that we’ve really tried to do is appreciate that we get inputs from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look at the averages. can’t look at it all in totality and try and pull an obvious “Oh, this is how everybody’s feeling.” Because you actually — when you really dig into it truly listen and do focus groups and talk to — what you’ll find is actually there’s very different experiences desires among your employees. And so, I think for us, what we’ve really just tried to is have a bunch of different listening mechanisms and resist the urge to conveniently pull, like, “Oh, this is what everyone’s feeling, let’s just do thing as the action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still kind of figuring out, but I will tell you, some of the that we’ve heard from employees have changed our approach to hybrid work or travel or even things our approach to compensation or our approach to DE and I. I think it’s more just like I said, that agile listening, really 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 so many different countries and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, the way we solve different things. And we used to have very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global approach in the of consistency and fairness, and what we found is we to be more localized. We really do. We have to design mechanisms to our teams in a very different way, because their experiences and the world around is quite different.
So I think that’s definitely been one, and I will tell you, it has involved a of — as an executive team and leadership team — it’s involved a of trying things, it not working, and changing them. a great example is our Q and A. I feel like leader I know has a perspective on whether they open Q and A or anonymous Q and A, or real-time and A. We’ve changed our approach there multiple times, and I know we will again, because we’re still figuring the right way to listen and have a dialogue a very diverse workforce.
SM: I want to stay newcomers to the workplace for just another moment, because another thing I hear 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 that they need, but also the training and the 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 sure that 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 the time. We have a very distributed workforce at Vimeo. We have people in over eight countries. My 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 be more inclusive. On 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 workforce. So I think it’s a challenge. One of the approaches that we’ve taking, and what’s sort of nice, is we’re modeling at the top. So if my entire executive team distributed, that means I have to learn how to real-time feedback, mentorship and development for a whole set new executives who have just joined. We have sort of changed up the executive almost entirely in the last twelve months. So I’ve had to deal the same challenges. And we’ve had to literally — we it our operating system — we’ve had to design an operating system, as an executive team, for we’re going to work together in that environment. How do we real-time feedback? How do we create the right communication loops? And so think, from my perspective, it’s more we have to be to do it ourselves and model it and then, I think it’s more proven mechanism 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 with their team, do social activities, all of things. I don’t think 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 perfectly I think it’s really critical that as leaders, we do that, so this next generation is able to get the same opportunities that we all had.
SM: Well, and it’s — the tools that you mentioned at the very beginning of conversation, around video, can be really helpful there. I’ve heard of number of organizations that have really encouraged their young people present, as a way of having to go out and 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 going through the fact-finding and the research, and sharing their ideas. In an earlier comment, you talked little bit about mental illness and the different things that people bringing to work, whether it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives Matter protests, we had a of 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 this increasing — 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 responsibility of a leader is to empower people to do their best work and responsibility of a company is to empower our people to do their best work. so, of course, we have a real role to play in supporting like mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, the I think, like many companies, the way we initially probably sought to do that was more, know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting by trying provide mental-health resources or support or time off. And, think — and empathy, just empathy. I think that’s really important. I always say, to so many of our managers … just care. we just care, a lot of things get easier. You don’t have to design hundred mechanisms if you just have the right people in place care. At the same time, I will say what we’re realizing now, in sort of next phase, is that that’s a reactive approach and actually the root cause — we can control at Vimeo — the root cause of a lot of stress and burnout is people either don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking to do too many things or they don’t feel like they’re in doing those things. And that, I think, is actually where we should be spending 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. I don’t feel equipped to solve it.” Then, should get into the “What is the detail there, and do we need to do differently?” And, you know, one of our themes at Vimeo year was “Do less, better.”
SM: As the economy starts to, maybe, sideways, do you think that there are going to stakeholders who say, you know, “Out with all of touchy-feely, the 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 as service, so we already went from “growth at all cost” to “profitability,” you know, swing. My perspective on this — and it hasn’t changed — I think the best leaders cultures deliver results and treat people well. And I actually think, if treat people well, with kindness and empathy, you will get better results. And so, 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 did things because it was lip service or we felt pressured. And that’s not going to be sustainable. that’s not what — ultimately, that’s not what people need, any case. So, you know, I sort of see as — the way you channel how you are towards your employees and how you are empathetic, always should be in service helping people do their best work, which will deliver results, which will be good the bottom line. And you have to believe that. You to be committed to that and if you use 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? You mentioned you just a baby. There’s a lot on your shoulders. How, as a leader, do you some self-care or how do you make sure that you’re getting balance you need to be the most effective leader you can be?
AS: I think — recently, the I use a lot to myself is “two things can be true, both can true.” I say this a lot. And for me, I think it as, like, “This job is hard, and it’s harder.” We went public at the height of the pandemic and year, market volatility has been tremendous. You know, we’re 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 an incredibly job. It’s a gift, right? And so, I think for me, it’s sort of acknowledging both of those has helped me a lot. The way I’ve tried to kind of lead, 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 is important and matters for the world. And if I have passion, I have energy and then I — I can kind of move through anything. I have to find joy my team. I feel like, especially in hard times, I back at my career and actually, some of my fulfilling times in work were when — in the 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, a really big part of it. then, yeah, like, you have to be a little selfish sometimes, and take care of yourself. And am really fortunate. I think I have a great support network around me and I do … My and I have a deal, where on Sundays, I disappear for couple of hours. I just disappear and I walk around the city I listen to my music 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 in the than how we describe it today. It’s basically in office a couple of days, work from home couple of other days. Tell us a little bit 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 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 then the idea like “I’m going to work on this time zone” or “I’m 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 find more and more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is to be done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously and we will be using tools and — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — to basically enable at scale among many people, anywhere in the world. then I think leadership, leaders are going to look different. Because I think it’s going require — if 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 diverse, global audiences and employees across time zones in a way that is effective, that provides context alignment at scale? How 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 was time or place or budget, in cases. And I think those constraints are going to go away. And promise is that if we are flexible and smart and we use technology in 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 that you’ve talked about as being the thing that gives you energy to that organization of 1,300 people worldwide. Anjali, thank you so for being here today.
AS: Thank you. This was great.