Family Business Series: Interview with the Voo Siblings

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Moving Steadily Ahead A Family-based Transport Business By: Samantha Lee

Voo Choon Ling and Voo Wei Keong, members of the second generation of Woodlands Transport, share their thoughts on joining the family business.

Woodlands Transport (WTS) is no stranger to most of us as we would probably have relied on its school bus services in our youth. Started by Voo Soon Sang, Lim Chin Hwee and Sia Leong Bee with only three buses, WTS has now expanded into one of the largest private transport fleets in Singapore, providing bus transport, travel and tours, and construction transport services. Now, the second generation of the three founders, including Voo Choon Ling and Voo Wei Keong, has also sprung into action.

Choon Ling is now the Chief Financial Controller of the company while Wei Keong runs the travel and tour arm of the company.

Interestingly, they too had to submit their resumes and go through the interview process like any other candidates. “Even if you are a shareholder or family member, it doesn’t mean you will be guaranteed a job in the company,” said Choon Ling.

Besides that, they have to apply leave and go through appraisal as well. “I started out with only seven days of leave as per the company’s HR policy then,” laughed Wei Keong. Not only is this one way to professionalise the family business, it sends a clear message to employees that the company is transparent and merit based.

Choon Ling acknowledged that with the second generation joining the family business, there are bound to be employees viewing them as a threat.

But this has been proven wrong in WTS. Employees who have proven to be capable are taking up important roles in the company and leading certain departments. In fact, Choon Ling has Photo Credit: Leonardo Wong

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recently recruited a new financial controller and she is more than happy that there is someone equally capable to assist her.

Being family-oriented, the company treats employees as their family members. There are many long-serving employees in WTS and the sister-brother duo is thankful that they have good employees who are willing to grow with the company.

As for the future plans for WTS, their immediate goal is to win the LTA public bus tender and hopefully be managing more than one transport package in five years’ time. “We hope we have gained enough experience to be one of the public transport operators. This is Mr Voo’s life-time dream and the second generation’s goal now,” added Choon Ling.

Was it in your plan to join the family business? What made you decide to join the family business?

My father sat us down for a family meeting after Wei Keong graduated. He asked if we were interested in joining the family business and all of us shook our heads simultaneously. My father then started sharing the details of his business journey which touched me a lot. What struck me the most was this: “The tree has been planted and has started bearing fruit. All you have to do is to pick the fruits and continue nurturing this tree.” I was then carving out my career in the professional industry, but having heard what my father said, I decided to continue nurturing this tree that my father has put his whole life into.

Since young, we always had the impression that working in an MNC is something glamorous, so I naturally wanted to explore the outside world. After graduation, I joined an MNC which offered me an overseas working stint. I was based in the USA for one year before being posted back to the Singapore office. Then, my father approached me again, asking if I were ready to come back to the family business. I did have my reservations at first. As a boy, I saw how hard my father worked – he always left the house early

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and reached home very late – and how tough it was to run this business.

Eventually, I took a leap of faith and have since been with the company for 11 years.

highly educated, they are actually very open to new ideas from the second generation and even the professionals.

They give us the space to explore new opportunities and ideas.

In your opinion, what is the best thing about working in the family business?

For example, while we started out as a transport company, we have also diversified into the pawnshop and laundry business. In fact, we are the first pawnshop to open a shop front in a shopping mall. It was a bold idea which was initially scoffed at by the industry. But now, look at the number of pawnshops in the shopping malls. I remember an incident when we managed to convince the first generation to embark on a new project.

However, after a year, the project didn’t take off. The first generation then explained that while they did have their reservations, they didn’t want to throw a wet blanket over our ideas. They were willing to give us the opportunity to try and learn. Even if the project failed, we would have gained valuable experience through the process. If this had happened in other companies, the board would probably have killed the project immediately instead of spending a year of resources on the project. But our first generation understood that if this was done, employees will eventually lose faith and stop thinking of new ideas and projects which would be beneficial to the company.

It helped me relive the time I lost with my father. I get to see him and spend more time with him every day, be it talking about business, our personal life or his life values and experiences. I am glad I made this decision to come back to the family business.

Because we are sitting on the board, we gained more exposure of the company and industry very quickly. We also had the opportunity to be involved in more projects, enabling us to experience and learn through the process and journey. For example, when I first joined the company, we were in the process of taking over another bus operator – TUC. If I had not been sitting on the board, I would not have experienced the whole process. Albeit a very tiring process, it was certainly a rare experience. There is almost no limit to what we can do, but ultimately, it is up to us to decide if we want to put our heart into it.

How does the second generation work towards the continuity of this traditional business and enable it to grow and diversify?

I think the most important thing is to let the employees and clients see that there is a proper succession plan and continuity of the business. I think the second generation and professionals have provided this confidence to our clients and our employees that we are here to maintain the level of service and expectations that the first generation provided.

Over the years, we have helped to corporatise the company and employees do see that the company is growing. They see a clear career path and growth prospects. We are also very fortunate that even though my father and his two founding partners are not

WTS is not just a family business, but a business of three families.

Has this made the running of the business more challenging and complicated?

I beg to differ. Instead, many hands make the job easy. If you look at other family business, there are many examples of family members in dispute and end up bringing matters to court. So it is the managing of the relationship which is important. We are very fortunate that the three families are able to work together. Yes, we do have differences, so we have long meetings and discussions to iron out the differences. Once the board comes to a decision, everyone will work together towards the direction. Even if the project fails, everyone will treat it as a lesson learnt and there is no finger-pointing at each other.

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It is unique to our company that while we are not related, somehow the first generation founders are as close as blood brothers. The second generation grew up together, attended school together and all three families had even stayed in the same condominium estate before. That is how close we are.

Ultimately, it is most important that the company does well.

Recall your most memorable incident.

Once, the General Manager engaged Mr Voo’s help to pick up the spare bus to ferry some workers. My father then asked me to go along with him. He said: “If both our cars have enough seats to pick up all the workers, then we will just ferry them using our cars.” So we ended up sending the workers to work in his Mercedes-Benz S Class and my Toyota.

Once, my father lost track of time during a board meeting and it was past lunch time. The General Manager then asked if we could break for lunch but my father told him that he should fill his stomach before attending meetings in future. What the General Manager said next left all of us laughing. “Mr Voo, I filled my stomach before coming for the meeting but it is now lunch time!” It was quite funny but it simply showed how serious my father is when it comes to business.

With so many career options out there, especially with the glamorous lure of MNCs, are you concerned about attracting THE younger generation to the company?

I think this is a major concern of many employers out there. Even MNCs do have problems employing people. On the whole, we give our employees the trust and freedom. Even our professional manager doesn’t micromanage our employees.

I think we are now experiencing a shift in employees’ mindset, especially with the incoming wave of Gen Y employees. During a townhall dialogue with our employees, one of them told us that he is happy working in the company.

“My colleagues are my friends. Unlike my other friends in bigger companies, we are like a close-knit family and I don’t

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face a problem applying for leave!” he said. When you work for a big company, you have so much work on hand that you sometimes have to stay back after work and even work on weekends. But when you work for a smaller company, the workload is less hectic and you get to finish your work and go home on time.

Looking at this trend, smaller companies might become popular among the younger generation. Yes, we do still strive for efficiency and productivity and my employees work very hard when we have big projects, but during non-peak periods, we ensure that they go home on time.

How do you manage changes in the company?

Before we change something, we speak to all the directors and HODs. It is important for us to get their views and support before proceeding ahead.

We don’t change policies overnight.

In fact, we do take quite a while before implementing changes because we need to ensure that any policy changes will minimise the downside. We believe that change is supposed to bring positivity, thus if the change will endanger our core foundation, then what is the point when we will have to rebuild our company again? Of course when certain policies have to be abolished due to one reason or another, there will be a transition programme for the employees, especially the older employees. I think many of our older employees want to change, but they have no idea how to do it. So we guide them along, and eventually they will be able to adapt to the new change.

Some people say that the second generation has it easier than the first generation because the foundation has been built. Do you agree?

While the foundation has been built, with the ever-changing business landscape and increasing competition, we need to continue to be on our toes to keep the business going.

Just look at how certain brands have been knocked out of the game.

In fact, I would say we face greater challenges and pressures. As one member of a second generation I met recently said: “If the company falls, I will be deemed as a wastrel!” When the first

generation started the business, they would probably just be responsible for themselves and their family. But for the second generation, we do not just answer to ourselves and our predecessors, we are also responsible for the livelihood of our employees who have families waiting for them to support. advice for those thinking of joining the family business They should. If you can be so successful in helping other companies, why not come back to help your parents? The sense of achievement may not be immediate and would probably kick in only after 10 to 20 years when you see how you managed to sustain or grow the family business, but the time you get to spend with your family is irreplaceable. Your bosses and colleagues come and go, but your family is always around, so I always feel fortunate that I was given the opportunity to join the family business.

While I encourage them to join the family business, I feel they should consider carefully before joining. They should not have the “try try” attitude because joining the family is not just about yourself, but also about the company and family’s reputation. As a second generation of the company, how will it reflect on the company if you decide to leave? Will employees have confidence in the company if the employer’s own child leaves the company? Also, working in the company is not just working with your family. There are also colleagues and shareholders, thus you do need to learn to be patient in managing the relationship with colleagues and shareholders. Respect is also very important. There are bound to be disagreements with your own parents when it comes to running the business.

However, we should always remember to hold our horses and not argue in front of everyone or just walk out of the meeting in a fit of anger. While the boss may be your father, he is still your boss in office. If you do not learn to respect your boss, how would you expect your employees to respect you in future?