Stephanie Mehta: Welcome, Anjali. I’m so glad you’re here with today.
Anjali Sud: Thank you, it is great to be here.
SM: At Vimeo, lead a workforce of 1,300 people worldwide — you have creatives, you have finance people, you technologists. So I’m going to start with a really easy question: what was it like to this diverse workforce through a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and very fraught return to office?
AS: Oh, it was breeze, Stephanie. No, it was really challenging. You know, think the only constant has been change. And as leader, you obviously — you have a workforce that’s looking for certainty, they’re looking to control what’s happening around them. And think what we all found, as leaders, no matter what company were … responsible for, was that you couldn’t offer certainty, and you couldn’t always control environment and the things around you. And so, you know, for me, it was really about agility. How we stay flexible 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, of the things I’ve really learned over the last few is we 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 or burnout, and so I think it was really — the hardest part was not being able to everyone certainty, not being able to just apply a one-size-fits-all rule everyone. But I ultimately think it forced us, as a company, to more trust, because to be agile and flexible, and to lead with humanity, you have to trust other. And so, I’m sort of optimistic that actually we’re emerging from time with a culture that is more flexible and nimble, and also, hopefully, has trust.
SM: Can you give an example of something you put into place, perhaps during the pandemic, to enhance communications or build trust or a greater sense of community or even to communicate there is no certainty, that is a muscle that think you’ll continue to use in the organization far into the future?
AS: There’s a of things that we 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, 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, actually try, particularly for our leadership team, when we were communicating, to it with your face, and your hands and your body your emotions. And we did that through live streaming a lot of communications, recording a lot videos. We sent asynchronous video messages. So I send … I record my screen and just send a out to people. Every new hire does a video to welcome introduce themselves. A lot of our meetings we’ve actually replaced with just video presentations. And actually, what that really did was allow the humanity and the to come through and I think 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 about when things aren’t working, because a critical part of being is recognizing we have an area that isn’t working. And so one of the things we do at Vimeo is we try — I do this in all of town halls, we do it in a lot of meetings — is always about 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 stigma away from talking about what’s not working. And when make that normalized and comfortable for people, I feel like it’s allowed us to more open, as an organization, about what do we need to change, what we need to pivot. And both of those, being more video-first in our and being more transparent and normalizing what’s not working, I think has been really helpful, and something we’re carrying forward.
SM: I love that advice about being video-first. So many of our of our workforce live in a video world. They’re used to as a means of communication. Which brings me to my next question. You’ve talked about how organization has changed. How do you see the workforce changing? What different with the young 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 things 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 totally different environment 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 is definitely blending. … you think about your personal life — look at TikTok. This generation is used to content, learning, engaging, in a very specific way. And 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 watch Zoom recording of a three-hour meeting — that’s just not going happen. And so I think that there is definitely sort of this — you know, we about the “consumerization of enterprise.” Those are just fancy words for saying the … we communicate and interact in our personal lives is going to translate work. And so I definitely think that’s an area of opportunity.
The thing I see from sort of the generation, the generation 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 one of our communication is we never talk about the “what” without the “why.” And I there’s a desire to — the idea that, well, there’s hierarchy, or “My boss told me that this is what we’re going do” or — that, I think, is increasingly moving away, and people, don’t just want to do something because someone with formal authority told to do it. They want to do it because they why it matters, why it ties to the mission. And I think 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 just flexibility. I think — this is true of all of us, but particularly younger generation — I think they’re looking for flexibility and they want options and choices. it’s not always easy and feasible to provide ultimate flexibility, this is where I try and orient it more to agility. can we have approaches and principles and be committed things, but also know when to question, and when to actually pivot?
SM: Yeah. Anjali, can you share few examples of ways that you at Vimeo have tried to really be proactive when comes to addressing or understanding what your next generation of employees are to want, either in terms of purpose or in terms of benefits in terms of flexibility? Are there programs or processes you’ve put place that really 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 I think, many organizations, the way we’ve tried to listen and our workforce is very similar: it’s Q and As and engagement surveys, and things like that. And some the things that we’ve done, we have a people and culture NPS, net promoter score, the same way have for our users, for our internal teams. But I would say one of the things we’ve really tried to do is appreciate that when we inputs from our employees, 1,300 employees … you can’t look at averages. You can’t look at it all in totality and try pull out an obvious “Oh, this is how everybody’s feeling.” what you actually — when you really dig into it and truly listen and do focus groups and to people — what you’ll find is actually there’s very different and desires among your employees. And so, I think for us, what we’ve really just tried to do have a 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 the action.” And it’s hard, and we’re still kind figuring it 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 like approach to compensation or our approach to DE and I. So I think it’s more 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 particularly stark because we have offices and teams in so many 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 in the name consistency and fairness, and what we found is we have to more localized. We really do. We have to design mechanisms to support our teams a very different way, because their experiences and the world them is quite different.
So I think that’s definitely been one, and I tell you, it has involved a lot of — an executive team and 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 like every leader I know has a perspective on whether they open Q and A or anonymous Q and A, or real-time Q and A. We’ve our approach there multiple times, and I know we will again, because we’re figuring out the right way to listen and have dialogue with a very diverse workforce.
SM: I want to on newcomers to the workplace for just another moment, because another I hear from CEOs of my generation and older is concern about making sure that we are not just providing our youngest 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 take on making sure that transfer is happening?
AS: I think it’s a major challenge 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 be more inclusive. On the flip side, there’s definitely, think, a lack of the same kinds of learning opportunities and mentorship, for the youngest folks that are entering the workforce. I think it’s a challenge. One of the approaches we’ve been taking, and what’s sort of nice, is we’re modeling 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 a whole set of new executives who have just joined. have sort of changed up the executive team almost entirely the last twelve months. So I’ve had to deal with same challenges. And we’ve had to literally — we call it operating system — we’ve had to design an operating system, as executive team, for how we’re going to work together that environment. How do we share real-time feedback? How we create the right communication loops? And so I think, from perspective, it’s more we have to be able to it ourselves and model it and then, I think it’s a more proven mechanism for young people. will say, like many companies … I do believe that in-person is really important for learning. We do have — bring people into an office. If you’re remote, we ask folks come in and spend time in a room with team, do social activities, all of those things. I don’t think they will away, nor do I think they should. But, you know, candidly, it’s area that I don’t think we’ve really figured out and I think it’s really critical that as leaders, we that, so that this next generation is able to get the same growth opportunities we all had.
SM: Well, and it’s interesting — the that you mentioned at the very beginning of our conversation, video, can be really helpful there. I’ve heard of a of organizations that have really encouraged their young people to present, as a way having to go out and find the information they need. And then, because we video tools available to us now, you know, they have an opportunity to share their ideas with a group of people, but first, kind of going through the fact-finding the research, and then sharing their ideas. In an earlier comment, you a little bit about mental illness and the different that people are bringing to work, whether it is, you know, exhaustion, burnout. the Black Lives Matter protests, we had a lot of people coming to office feeling trauma, and feeling really personal issues bubble the surface. I’m wondering if you can share a little bit about how you deal this increasing personal — you know, when people bring whole selves to 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 work and the of a company is to empower our people to do their work. And so, of course, we have a real role play in supporting things like mental-health issues or burnout. And, know, the way I think, like many companies, the way we initially probably sought do that was more, you know, you’re seeing a problem and you’re reacting by trying to mental-health resources or support or time off. And, I think — empathy, just empathy. I think that’s really important. And always say, to so many of our managers … just care. If we just care, a of things get easier. You don’t have to design a hundred mechanisms you just have the right people in place who care. the same time, I will say what we’re realizing now, in sort of this next phase, is that that’s reactive approach and actually the root cause — that we can control Vimeo — the root cause of a lot of stress and burnout is sometimes either don’t have enough … focus, we’re asking people to do too many things or don’t feel like they’re supported in doing those things. And that, I think, is actually where we be spending more time — is how do we actually set right prioritization and focus. There’s some issue there, right? There’s a root cause there that’s “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 the “What is the there, and do we need to do things differently?” And, you know, of our themes at Vimeo this year was “Do less, better.”
SM: As the economy starts to, maybe, move sideways, do think that there are going to be stakeholders who say, know, “Out with all of this touchy-feely, the workplace-as-a-family stuff. are my results?”
AS: Absolutely. I think the pendulum has swung pretty clearly. I mean, I work in SAS, software 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 — think the best leaders and cultures deliver results and treat people well. And I actually think, you treat people well, with kindness and empathy, you get better results. And so, you know, for me, I what I observed over the last few years is — part, I think, hasn’t changed and shouldn’t change. There were, think, a lot of times when companies, we did things maybe it was lip service or we felt pressured. And that’s not going be 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 employees and how you are empathetic, always should be service of helping people do their best work, which will deliver results, which will be good for bottom line. And you have to believe that. You have to be committed to that and if use that consistently in your decision-making, it should not be a trade-off. These not mutually exclusive things.
SM: Anjali, how have you 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 your shoulders. How, as a leader, do you practice some self-care or do you make sure that you’re getting the balance you need to be most effective leader you can be?
AS: I think — recently, the phrase I use a lot myself is “two things can be true, both can be true.” say this 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 pandemic and last year, market volatility has been tremendous. know, we’re obviously going through a ton with post-pandemic, we a team in Ukraine going through a war — all these that have happened. And so, it’s a hard job, and it’s incredibly privileged job. It’s a gift, right? And so, think for me, it’s sort of acknowledging both of those things has helped a lot. The way I’ve tried to kind of lead, has been — it’s been this way, which is, for me, it’s I to have passion. I have to have passion. I to believe so deeply that what Vimeo is doing important and matters for the world. And if I passion, I 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 actually, some of my most fulfilling times in work were — in the hardest business situations. But it’s because brought a group of people together all on one team, and I think that’s been, you know, a really big 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 network around me and I do … My husband and I have a deal, on Sundays, I disappear for a couple of hours. I just disappear I walk around the city and I listen to my music and whatever I need to do, and that’s really important.
SM: So you talked about how work is going to look very different in the future than we describe it today. It’s basically in office a couple days, work from home a couple of other days. us a little bit more about what you could potentially see that into.
AS: I think the idea of an office as a time and place completely away. And I think it’s really going to be people are to want to work from anywhere, anywhere in the world. Even the concept of where you’re is going to change. And then the idea of “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 going to 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 and will be using tools and technology — whether it’s video, whether it’s AI — basically enable that at scale among many people, anywhere the world. And then I think leadership, leaders are going look different. Because I think it’s going to require — if think about the skill set to be a global CEO 30 ago versus what that will require now — I think in future … the skill set is going to be like, “How you communicate with diverse, global audiences and employees across zones in a way 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 to look very different. But I think the ultimate thing you’ll see just … there were these constraints that we’ve lived with, whether was time or place or budget, in some cases. And I think those constraints are to go away. And the promise is that if we are flexible and and we use technology in the right way, that we’ll actually come away a much more evolved and 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 here today.
AS: Thank you. was great.