Despite the constant state of flux we've found ourselves in over the six years of our existence, and the past two years in particular, the values that underpin our approach remain largely unchanged.
But we felt it was an appropriate time to redefine these values, largely so that we never lose sight of them amid the change occurring around us.
As we’ve grown, it has also become more important for us to clearly outline and communicate our values. When you’re a small, close-knit team working alongside one another on a daily basis, it’s much easier to develop a shared understanding of guiding principles than it is when you have almost 60 people working across three different sites.
Looking back, we realise we haven't always been able to successfully communicate online who we are, why we do what we do, why we are the type of company we are, and the intention behind decisions we’ve made and actions we’ve taken, which has often resulted in misunderstanding or mistrust. We hope that by sharing the work our team has done to define our values, we’ll provide a little more clarity around our motivations and the thinking that determines the course we take.
This isn't some corporate branding exercise (although we'll let you off if that's the first thing that came to mind) but a genuine attempt at more clearly outlining what we stand for so we can better serve everyone with an interest in what we do. Originally, it was intended for internal use only but, on reflection, we thought it would be a valuable document to share with you all too and we hope this is the spirit in which it is received.
These are the values our team all aim to embody while we're at work and that should inform the decisions we make on a day-to-day basis. If something we're working on or the way in which we're working doesn't fit within these values, it's important to question why we're doing things that way and take corrective action if necessary.
You’ll find all four core values outlined below, each with a bullet point list that is intended to outline how each value will be applied and a descriptive copy designed to provide further rationale.
We love making things our customers love
Delight customers with world class products and experiences.
Strive for consistency and reliability in our approach.
Instil our team and customers with a belief and excitement in what we’re doing.
Primarily, this is a commitment borne from shared loves and broad overlaps. We are beer professionals but, first and foremost, we are beer lovers. Though we strive to plumb the depths of our experiences in order to preempt your wants and desires, we love to listen to our customers and to respond to their needs in order to serve them in the best possible way. As part of this, we're also aiming to provide greater consistency of experience by developing a well-defined beer strategy and communicating it in advance. We admit that, in the past, our passion for agility and evolution hasn’t always been accompanied by clear enough and timely explanations, particularly when it has come to new initiatives or changes in direction, and this has sometimes led to confusion among customers. As a team, we focus on delivering the best experiences possible by keeping our finger on the industry's pulse and taking opportunities to make improvements, discover new innovations and upskill ourselves. If we get this right, we can instil belief in our customers and ensure our work creates energy and excitement.
We take action on causes that matter to us
Grounded in Manchester, with the city’s values at our heart.
Show solidarity with marginalized people and impact the wider world.
Focused on reducing our environmental impact and becoming more sustainable.
Hold ourselves accountable for the impact of our actions.
Our home city of Manchester is built on values of compassion, collaboration and social justice. People here are taught to look out for one another, to stand up for what they believe in and to speak out against injustice. We aim to embody those same values by giving back to our own community and taking action intended to positively impact our industry and the wider world. We’re committed to using our platform to give marginalised people a voice and effect positive social change. One particularly pressing issue is the impact we have on the environment and this is an area where we know there is significant room for improvement both within the industry and within our business, so we’re in the process of developing plans to make our work more sustainable.
We focus on progress
Take risks to facilitate progression, then learn from successes and failures.
Continuously improve and adapt to the changing situation around us.
Be proactive rather than reactive and aim to lead change in the industry.
Approachable, open to different perspectives and value collaboration.
The physical distance imposed by the pandemic made collaboration and co-working harder than ever, but we know our best opportunity for progress comes through togetherness. Although we’re committed to taking risks in order to achieve the change people want from our industry, we’re also open to feedback on how effective our actions were, what impact they have had and how they can be refined. As such, we are focused on continually improving and taking a proactive approach to growing our knowledge, understanding and skills, so that we can both embody and perform our role as one of the industry’s leaders.
We are happier together
Human-centred and empathic.
Equality and equity is at the core of our approach.
Focused on fostering unity and helping everyone to share in our success.
Working to a shared set of values and behavioural standards.
First and foremost, we’re a collective of human beings with a shared set of values and goals on a journey towards co-ownership, but possessing a whole range of individual needs and desires. We strive to create an environment where everyone has equal access to opportunity, and is treated with empathy and respect. When we envision success, we rarely think solely in terms of profitability but how others can share in those profits and successes, or benefit from solutions to shared problems. This includes our team, our industry and our community, for example by devoting production capacity to breweries who have not been able to gain access to the same level of opportunity or by donating profits to good causes.
