Small Team. Big Values.

This year’s theme for World Values Day is “Values and Volunteering”. We are a small business, not a charity – so at first glance this theme doesn’t seem relevant. Oh but it is.

Whether or not you identify as a ‘volunteer’, what we’re really talking about here is putting values into practice through giving our time, energy, skills and care to others.

Central to Boo philosophy is making a small contribution to something bigger than ourselves – recognising that even little actions can ripple outward. In fact, social value is one of the main markers by which we judge our success as an organisation. As we put it in our 2025 Social Impact Report:

“If we have the bandwidth and profit to make a difference in our community, then we know we are doing alright.”

In the spirit of World Values Day, we thought we’d reflect on our four company values and some of the ways we’ve brought them to life over the last couple of years.

💜 Enjoying what we do with vibrancy and energy

One of our proudest achievements in 2026 has been launching our Booprint for Happiness at Work. A labour of joy, it brought together more than a decade of research, experience and practical wisdom into a resource designed to help people create happier, healthier workplaces.

We wanted to make that knowledge freely accessible, hoping that people across the world will be able to benefit from it.

Our commitment to vibrancy and energy is more than being enthusiastic. It’s about infectious curiosity, being open to possibilities, and putting our enthusiasm to good use. Whether that’s being ‘dragons’ judging school children’s fundraising pitches for Bolton Wanderers in the Community, or using banked social value hours for pro bono work.

💜 Caring for our team, our customers and our community

This value sits at the heart of our approach to social impact.

“What strikes me is how well we balance caring for our team, our customers and our community. Those three things can easily have competing interests and we nail it.” – Amy, Director of Happiness

In 2025 alone, we:

Supported 10 charity and community organisations.
Held 6 regular governance and trustee roles.
Contributed to 7 advocacy and campaigning activities.

Plus a sprinkling of fundraising activities and community initiatives – wherever we felt we could make a difference.

But caring for our community is only one part of this value: Our own working practices are built around flexibility, trust and recognising that people have lives beyond their jobs. We want our team to feel supported and cared for.

It feels so right when you’re trusted, encouraged, appreciated, and truly are part of a supportive team who are doing such meaningful work. – Julia

Finally, our care for our customers is something we’re particularly proud of. One of our all time favourite quotes from a participant is this: “Training from Boo is like getting a big, sparkly beautifully wrapped gift delivered … and they all have your name on.”

Look, being nice to our own customers is a stretch from ‘volunteering’. But there is a connection: for every day we’re commissioned to deliver, we bank an hour to give back to our community. So our customers help make volunteering possible, creating opportunities for us to share our time for the good of the community.

💜 Collaborating to create the perfect customer solution

Putting shared beliefs into collective action – that’s the whole principle of the Bolton Family Social Value Partnership, which Becci has chaired for the several years.

Throughout 2025 and into 2026, we’ve given our time and expertise to partnerships, panels and networks doing good things in our region. Sometimes we bring our expertise in leadership, coaching and workplace culture. Sometimes we bring our experience as a small employer. And sometimes we just bring vibrancy and energy!

Amy sits on the GM Women and Girls Equality Panel, and chairs the Educations Work and Skills subgroup in Boo time. We also support the Good Employment Charter, Good Business Charter and Living Wage Foundation – with a particular focus making these movements felt in Bolton.

💜 Understanding and valuing what is important to each individual

Really, our values are simply what matters most to us. Values in practice also mean recognising what matters to other people.

This is a familiar concept in coaching and mentoring, and is naturally reflected in the causes we choose to support. Boo has been ta guardian of youth homelessness charity Backup North West since 2018 as their mission connects to Becci’s values of compassion and community.

If fact, those two personal values of our founder have been the driving force behind all of this.

Small team. Big values.

As a small business, we know we can’t change everything. But we can decide where to put our energy, what to say yes to, when to speak up and how to treat the people around us. We are proud of our choices, and hope that anyone looking at what our organisation does (not just what we say!) would be able to recognise our values.

Happy World Values Day!

Small Team. Big Values.