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 lead workforce of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, you have finance people, you technologists. So I’m going to start with a really question: what was it like to manage this diverse workforce through a global pandemic, racial reckoning and a very fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, was a breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. You know, think the only 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, as leaders, no 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, was really about agility. How do we stay flexible as a team? do we communicate in real time and keep people informed as we and move through things? And then, also just how do we with more humanity? You know, for Vimeo, one of the I’ve really learned over the last few years is each experience the world so differently. We have employees who remote. We have an incredible team in Ukraine … employees who are the front lines, who are literally at war. On the other hand, you have people different parts of the world who are experiencing mental-health challenges or burnout, and so think it was really just — the hardest part was being able to give everyone certainty, not being able just apply a one-size-fits-all rule for everyone. But I think it forced us, as a company, to build trust, because to be agile 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 culture that is more flexible and nimble, and also, hopefully, has more trust.
SM: you give an example of something that you put into place, perhaps during pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust or create a greater sense of community or even to communicate there is no certainty, that is a muscle that you you’ll continue to use in the organization far into future?
AS: There’s a couple of things that we did. One — and are a video platform, so I obviously have to talk about video, but mean this sincerely — one of the hardest parts, you’re all sort of disparate, is you lose context and you nuance when you communicate. And we did make a concerted to move away from email and chat, text-based communication, as much as possible, and actually try, particularly for leadership team, when we were communicating, to do it with your face, your hands and your body and your emotions. And we did that through live streaming a of communications, recording a lot of videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. So send … I record my screen and just send note out to people. Every new hire does a video to welcome and introduce themselves. lot of our meetings we’ve actually replaced with just quick presentations. And actually, what that really did was allow humanity and the context to come through and I that helped us a lot to, kind of, stay close. So that 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 an that isn’t working. And so one of the things that do at Vimeo is we try — I do this all of my town halls, we do it in a lot meetings — is always talk about what’s working, what our top three things, and what isn’t working — yet. And we’ve kind created, I think, a framework that sort of takes the stigma away talking about what’s not working. And when you make that normalized and comfortable for people, I like it’s allowed us to be more open, as an organization, about what do we to change, what do we need to pivot. And of those, being more video-first in our communication and being more transparent normalizing what’s not working, I think has been really helpful, certainly something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I love that about being video-first. So many of our members of 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? is different with the young millennials, and even, now, the first wave Gen Z coming into the workplace?
AS: I think it’s incredibly different. And, you know, one of the things we think about at Vimeo a lot is a lot of the mechanisms and communication modes we still use today, they’re really antiquated. They were designed for totally different environment and a totally different generation. But I see a lot of differences. One of them, think, is the line between your personal life and work life definitely blending. … If you think about your personal life — look at TikTok. generation is used to consuming content, learning, engaging, in a specific way. And if they then have to come to work and be trained on a job, read a 300-page manual? Like, it’s not going to happen, right? Or if miss the meeting, and you have to watch the Zoom recording of a three-hour meeting — that’s not going to happen. And so I think that there is sort of this — you know, we talk about the “consumerization of enterprise.” are just fancy words for saying the way … we communicate and interact our personal lives is going to translate to work. And so I definitely think that’s area of opportunity.
The other thing I see from sort of the generation, the newest generation coming into workforce, is sort of, of course mission-driven, but I think there’s a desire to really the “why” behind things. And one of our communication mantras is we never talk about the “what” the “why.” And I think there’s a desire to — idea that, well, there’s a hierarchy, or “My boss told me that this is what we’re to do” or — that, I think, is increasingly away, and people, they don’t just want to do something because someone formal authority told them to do it. They want to do it because they understand it matters, why it ties to the mission. And think that that forces leaders to really bring more of the “why” into how communicate and motivate people.
So those are two of the things see, and then, you know, the third I think is just flexibility. I think — this is true of all of us, but particularly the generation — I think they’re looking for flexibility and they options and choices. And it’s not always easy and to provide ultimate flexibility, but this is where I and orient it more to agility. How can we have approaches and principles and be committed things, but also know when to question, and when to pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share a few examples of that you at Vimeo have tried to really be proactive when it comes addressing or understanding what your next generation of employees are going to want, either in terms of or in terms of benefits or in terms of flexibility? Are there programs or processes you’ve in place that really speak to this big sea change we’re seeing in terms of values from workforce?
AS: Firstly, of course, it’s all about listening, right? I think, like many organizations, the way we’ve tried listen and understand our workforce is very similar: it’s and As and engagement surveys, and things like that. some of the things that we’ve done, we have a people culture NPS, net promoter score, the same way we have for users, for our internal teams. But I would say one of the things we’ve really tried to do is appreciate that when we get from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look at the averages. You can’t look it all in totality and try and pull out obvious “Oh, this is how everybody’s feeling.” Because what you actually — when you really dig into it truly listen and do focus groups and talk to people — you’ll find is actually there’s very different experiences and desires among your employees. And so, think for 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 is what everyone’s feeling, let’s just this thing as the action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still kind of figuring it out, I will tell you, some of the things that we’ve heard from employees have our approach to hybrid work or travel or even 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 treating everything as, like, an average or same. And for us, it’s been particularly stark because we have offices and teams in so many different and the differences, they’re substantial. They’re really substantial, about the way we solve different things. And we to have a very, sort of, “One Vimeo” global approach in name of consistency and fairness, and what we found we have to be more localized. We really do. We have design mechanisms to support our teams in a very different way, their experiences and the world around them is quite different.
So think that’s definitely been one, and I will tell you, has 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 and 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 Q A. We’ve changed our approach there multiple times, and I know will again, because we’re still figuring out the right way to listen and have dialogue with a very diverse workforce.
SM: I want to stay on newcomers to the workplace for just moment, because another thing I hear from CEOs of generation and older is a concern about making sure that we are not just providing our youngest with the flexibility and the purpose that they need, also the training and the wisdom that comes, oftentimes, from being in close proximity to mentor or to somebody who’s done the job for many more years. What is your and take on making sure that knowledge transfer is happening?
AS: I think it’s a challenge that I don’t know that everyone will sort of a solution for. I think about that all the time. 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 workforce and being able attract talent and just be more inclusive. On the 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 a challenge. One the approaches that we’ve been taking, and what’s sort of nice, is we’re it at the top. So if my entire executive team is distributed, that means have to learn how to provide real-time feedback, mentorship and development for a set of new executives who have just joined. We sort of changed up the executive team almost entirely in the twelve months. So I’ve had to deal with the same challenges. And we’ve to literally — we call it our operating system — we’ve had to an operating system, as an executive team, for how we’re going to work together in that environment. How do share real-time feedback? How do we create the right communication loops? And so think, from my perspective, it’s more we have to be able to do it ourselves model it and then, I think it’s a more mechanism for young people. I will say, like many companies … I do believe that in-person is really important for learning. We do have — we bring people an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks to 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 and I think it’s critical that as leaders, we do that, so that this next is able to get the same growth opportunities that we had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — the tools that mentioned at the very beginning of our 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 way of having to go out and find the information they need. then, because we have video tools available to us now, know, they have an opportunity to share their ideas with large group of people, but first, kind of going through fact-finding and 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 bringing to work, whether is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. During the Black Lives Matter protests, we had a lot people coming to the office feeling trauma, and feeling really 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 the office, which we encourage, sometimes, they bring things, parts of that are challenging.
AS: Yeah … I’ve always thought responsibility of a leader is to empower people to do their best and the responsibility of a company is to empower our people to do their work. And so, of course, we have a real role to play supporting things like mental-health issues or burnout. And, you know, way I think, like many companies, the way we initially probably to do that was more, you know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re by trying to provide mental-health resources or support or off. And, I think — and empathy, just empathy. think that’s really important. And I always say, to so many of our managers … just care. we just care, a lot of things get easier. don’t have 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 control at Vimeo — the root cause of a lot stress and burnout is sometimes people either don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking people to do many things 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 and focus. There’s some issue there, right? There’s a root there that’s a “Oh, I feel like I’m stressed 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 to do things differently?” And, you know, one of our 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 all of this touchy-feely, the workplace-as-a-family stuff. are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the pendulum has already pretty clearly. I mean, I work in SAS, software a service, so we already went from “growth at cost” to “profitability,” you know, pendulum swing. My perspective this — and it hasn’t changed — I think the leaders and cultures deliver results and treat people well. And I think, if you treat people well, with kindness and empathy, you will 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 of times when companies, we did things 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 — way you channel how you are caring towards your and how you are empathetic, always should be in service of helping people do their work, which will deliver results, which will be good for the line. And you have to believe that. You have to be to that and if you use that consistently in decision-making, it should not be a trade-off. These are mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, how have you been taking care of 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 a leader, you practice some self-care or how do you make sure that you’re getting the you need to be the most effective leader you be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase I a lot to myself is “two things can be true, both can be true.” I this a lot. And for me, I think of it as, like, “This is hard, and it’s gotten harder.” We went public at the height of the pandemic last year, market volatility has been tremendous. You know, we’re obviously going through a ton with post-pandemic, have a team 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 acknowledging both of those things has helped me a lot. The way I’ve tried kind of lead, has been — it’s always been way, which is, for me, it’s I have to passion. I have to have passion. I have to believe so deeply what Vimeo is doing is important and matters for the world. And if I passion, I have energy and then I will — I can kind of move anything. I have to find joy in my team. feel like, especially in hard times, I look back my career and actually, some of my most fulfilling times in were when — in the hardest business situations. But it’s it brought a group of people together all on one team, so I think that’s been, you know, a really part of it. And then, yeah, like, you have to a 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 just disappear I walk around the city and I listen to my music and do 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 a 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 people are going to want work from anywhere, anywhere in the world. Even the concept of where you’re is going to 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 scheduled on this date” — think that’s going to go away. And I think what you’re to find is more and more work, particularly from knowledge workers, is going be done anywhere, anytime. Communication and collaboration will happen asynchronously and we will be tools and technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s — to basically enable that at scale among many people, anywhere in the world. And then 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 CEO 30 years ago versus what that will require now — I think in the … the skill set is going to be like, “How do you with diverse, global audiences and employees across time zones in a way 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 to look very different. But I think the ultimate you’ll see is just … 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 are flexible and smart and we use technology in the way, that we’ll actually come away a much more and efficient workforce.
SM: Well, I think you just showed us some of passion 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 much for being today.
AS: Thank you. This was great.