It’s two weeks before Christmas
“It’s two weeks before Christmas”
Founder resourceLeader $5m+
How we built a $6M SaaS company that everyone wants to work for
Employee supremacy: ranking employees ahead of customers and shareholders, and how that shapes hiring and decisions at The Receptionist
Andy Alsop · The Receptionist
Published September 6, 2023About this resource
- Format
- Bootstrapped Stage at SaaStr Annual 2023
- Inside
- 5 key moments
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What you’ll learn
Andy Alsop explains how The Receptionist built a $6 million SaaS company around employee-first leadership. He argues that aligning employee and shareholder interests, hiring for shared values, and giving people dignity and autonomy can support customer outcomes and durable economics.
Read the source passagesKey moments
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Are Shareholders Bad?
“Are Shareholders Bad?”
When you put employees first
“When you put employees first,”
Hiring Process
“Hiring Manager Interview”
Employee Supremacy
“Employee Supremacy”
Preview slides
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Andy Saastr Slide deck
Andy Alsop is the President and CEO of The Receptionist, the company behind the original iPad-based visitor management system. Andy is a 30+ year serial entrepreneur who has been part of the founding or c-level team of 6 different startups. He acquired The Receptionist in April of 2015. His passion is running the company under “employee supremacy” a bold and completely different way of making decisions in a business.
- Company revenue
- $6M
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Slide by slide
Each slide with a short explanation of what it shows. Open the slide text for its exact wording.
30 passages
Introduction
Slide text
How we built a $6M SaaS company that everyone wants to work for Andy Alsop CEO, The Receptionist
It’s two weeks before Christmas
Opening scenario
A brief time marker sets up the story that follows, placing the talk just before the Christmas holiday period.
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It’s two weeks before Christmas
The company culture stack
The Receptionist frames its culture as a layered system, from its employee-focused purpose and just cause through vision, operating practices, meetings, and radical support.
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Who We Are
Profits serve a broader mission
The company defines its just cause as using profits to support employees and the community.
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Our Just Cause To build a world where a company’s profits fuel the mission to be in service to its employees and the community.
Audience poll
A quick poll invites the audience to participate before the talk develops its argument.
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Quick Poll
Employee management is difficult
The slide connects the pressure to succeed with the difficulty of managing employees and the feeling that people can obstruct progress.
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Who loves dealing with employee issues? We’re all desperate to succeed. Managing employees is NOT easy. Sometimes it seems like employees are standing in the way.
The status quo
This section introduces the conventional approach to corporate priorities that the talk will question.
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Status Quo
Shareholder primacy
The slide presents shareholder profit maximization as the prevailing view of corporate purpose, using a citation to Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom.
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Shareholder Supremacy "Corporations have no higher purpose than maximizing profits for their shareholders." - Capitalism and Freedom, Milton Friedman
A misread principle
The talk argues that shareholder supremacy has been misinterpreted, setting up a distinction between shareholders and the way the principle is applied.
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Shareholder Supremacy has been misinterpreted
Are Shareholders Bad?
Shareholders are not the problem
The answer to whether shareholders are bad is no, separating the people who own a company from the priority system under discussion.
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Are Shareholders Bad? NO
The prevailing priority order
Shareholders are ranked first, while the order of customers and employees is left open. The question marks highlight uncertainty about their relative priority.
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Prevailing Order Shareholders Customers Employees 1 ??? ???
Misalignment creates tension
The slide links misalignment to stress and conflict, especially the recurring choice between shareholders and employees.
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But, what’s the problem? Stress caused by… Stress caused by misalignment Constant conflict Shareholders or employees Which do I choose? Misalignment Conflict Tension
Employee supremacy is the answer
The talk proposes employee supremacy as its answer to the tension created by competing stakeholder priorities.
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So, what’s the answer? Employee Supremacy
Defining employee supremacy
This section introduces the concept of employee supremacy before explaining how its priorities work.
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What is Employee Supremacy?
Prioritize employees first
The proposed order puts employees first, customers second, and shareholders third.
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You have to prioritize Employees Customers Shareholders 1 2 3
When you put employees first
Employees support shareholders
The slide argues that prioritizing employees ultimately also puts shareholders first.
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When you put employees first, you put shareholders first.
A business rationale
The slide frames employee supremacy as compatible with making money and capitalism, rather than as a purely sentimental position.
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Why do we do this? And why should you? Not just a love fest! You’re in business to make money You’re a capitalist!
Other leaders share the view
The slide points to leaders associated with Virgin, Shake Shack, Walmart, Southwest Airlines, and Patagonia as examples of people connected with employee-focused leadership.
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We’re not alone Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Danny Myer, Shake Shack Sam Walton, early days of Walmart Herb Kelleher, early days of SW airlines Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia, Inc.
Results support the approach
The company cites employee tenure, revenue per employee, customer locations, an NPS score, and G2 recognition as evidence of its results. The figures shown include 13 employees with 3+ years, 6 with more than 5+ years, $225k+ revenue per employee, 6,000 locations, and an NPS score of 64.
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Proof in results: 13 employees 3+ years 6 with more than 5+ yrs $225k+ rev/empl 6,000 locations An NPS score of 64 G2 ratings
A visual pause
An image-only pause follows the results and awards, with no additional message visible.
Start by checking your ego
The slide says employee supremacy requires more than declaring employees first. It emphasizes checking ego and avoiding a repeat of a past employee situation.
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How? It’s not just “employee first” “We are powered by Employee Supremacy!” Never wanted to experience the Anne situation again First, check your ego at the door
Build a system around the values
The slide names the Entrepreneurial Operating System, Simon Sinek’s The Infinite Game, and a strict hiring process as resources for putting the approach into practice.
Slide text
Resources Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) Simon Sinek’s Infinite Game Strict hiring process
Hiring Process
A staged hiring process
Candidates move through a screening call, hiring manager interview, simulation, skills interview, culture fit interview, and candidate debrief.
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Hiring Process Screening Call Hiring Manager Interview Simulation Skills Interview Culture Fit Interview Candidate Debrief
What comes next
This transition asks what the next step is after explaining the company’s approach and hiring process.
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So, what’s next?
Employees feel seen as people
A customer experience representative describes being recognized for individual skills and goals rather than treated as an expense. The testimonial connects that experience to employee supremacy.
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The Employee Supremacy Experience Rain Hyneman Customer Experience Representative Joined: Aug ‘21 “ Everyone at the company — from my colleagues to my CEO — knows that I'm a human being with unique skills and dreams, instead of an expense or a line item.”
Shared values support customers
An account executive links shared commitment and mutual respect with stronger team harmony and happier customers.
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The Employee Supremacy Experience Samantha Penrod Account Executive Joined: Dec ‘17 “ We all have skin in the game. We know our values, we all show up and care, and how we’re treated is a sign of mutual respect. This creates harmony that ultimately leads to happier customers.”
Learning without fear
A customer experience leader describes being able to try new things without fear of repercussions and treating unsuccessful attempts as learning opportunities.
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The Employee Supremacy Experience LizAnn Nealing Director of Customer Experience Joined: Mar ‘22 “ I can try new things without fear of repercussion if that thing doesn't work out. We get to treat everything as a learning opportunity.”
Respect makes people feel valued
An accounting specialist describes being treated with dignity and having their contributions recognized.
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The Employee Supremacy Experience Joel W. Cabrera Accounting Specialist Joined: Mar ‘23 “ I'm treated with dignity and respect: I'm not just another dispensable cog; my value and worth is seen, appreciated, and celebrated every day.”
Employee Supremacy
Continue the employee supremacy series
The slide invites viewers to watch a five-part series about employee supremacy. A QR code provides the viewing path.
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Employee Supremacy 5-Part Series Andy Alsop #EmployeeSupremacy WATCH:
Thank you
Andy Alsop closes the talk with a thank-you and directs the audience to a contact option shown on the slide.
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Andy Alsop CEO, The Receptionist