AUPE Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Ltd

"On 9 March 1965, our Union founded the Co-operative with the main objectives of promoting the economic interest of its members and encouraging thrift, co-operation, self-help and mutual assistance amongst its members. Today, it has gone way beyond catering to their financial needs..."

From member-centric schemes to building a team of dependable and effective support staff, AUPE Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society has orchestrated its own growth to become a success story. The Co-operative does not intend to rest on its laurels. It promises to be a continuously adapting and evolving Co-operative.

Today, AUPE Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society has a membership of 13,914 as at 30 September 2006, with a net surplus of $2.507 million for FY 2005, as announced at the Annual General Meeting in June 2006.

The Co-operative celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2005. Chairman Mr Teo Yock Ngee looks back on the Co-operative's humble beginnings, and looks ahead on the challenges the coming years will pose. He shares...

We are building on the foresight and wisdom of our AUPE founding General Secretary, the late Mr G Kandasamy and AUPE Co-op Chairman, the late Mr Paul Tan. They have both contributed to the tremendous development and growth of the Co-operative.

Our membership figures and sound financial status and performance today say a lot about the confidence members have in the Co-operative. They trust us.

The Co-operative has been doing a good job managing our finances. We have been prudent in our investments, yet are able to produce attractive returns and interests to members.

AUPE Co-op is forward-looking, always seeking to improve, and offer better services and products to members. We try to stay ahead in the little ways that matter. For instance, we are one of the first few co-operatives to introduce a secured web portal that allows members to check their balances online, anytime. This is better than a monthly statement, and certainly more cost effective. It has incorporated features that have less room for human errors. We also have full time IT personnel to monitor the system because we understand that the system cannot afford to be down.

Staff plays an important role. We believe in investing in training and upgrading of our staff, so that we have reliable staff support to provide better service. We work based on a system of 'teams', not departments or divisions. In our opinion, 'departments' divide. The level of morale is high and our staff are motivated. We are proud that our staff have continuously qualified and received awards.

We recognise the need to continue to grow our membership base. A rough estimation shows that we still have a large pool of members to tap on. We plan to build a dependable network and reach out to more people through existing members 'selling' our services. If everyone were to reach out to at least a new member, we will double our membership!

One question we contantly ask ourselves is - are there ways we can improve on our effectiveness, be it in terms of cost or servicing our members and more. AUPE Co-op began operations with our office in Paya Lebar, and we moved with the times, relocating to a central location at Bras Basah where we are now. Could this be the time to consider the notion of decentralisation? To better serve the needs of our members, it may even be worthwhile and necessary to consider setting up small offices or IT counters at various locations spread over Singapore, than to have just a main office.

We want to encourage thrift in our members, not just loan. As at 30 September 2006, AUPE Co-op's thrift amount stands at about $108 million while the loan amount is about $31 million.

We want to cater to members who have surplus funds, come up with schemes that can best utilise the funds and provide a good source of returns for them. We do not want to over-capitalise and hoard funds unnecessarily. We are currently looking into possible collaboration with banks and hopefully, we can nail down something concrete soon.

Our records for the last FY have shown that we have dispensed new loans. This is a healthy sign, because it means that it isn't the same members taking up our loans. As a co-operative, our primary role is to assist members, not commercial profit. And with that, we need to ask ourselves if the loans are applicable and helping members. We must be mindful to stay relevant, and continue to be of help to our members.

This is a critcal issue that we must be on our toes all the time. AUPE Co-op's system is securely in place, thanks to our by-laws. We have internal audit teams, appointed certified accountants and the board meets regularly to ensure that the accounts and statements are rightly maintained. This allows them to be in touch with the Co-op's income and expenditure.

We have internal controls and Standard Operating Procedures to follow, exercise strict control and we enforced discipline on our staff. Our senior staff, directors included, are updated with compulsory courses in Corporate Governance, conducted by SNCF and OTC Institute. This allows better understanding of their roles as directors and managers in ensuring that the co-operative operates in compliance with the standards of corporate governance.

This year, the Management has decided that employees of AUPE Group who are serving as directors in the Co-operatives would not be paid any honorarium or allowances, because as employees, they are rewarded in accordance with prevailing staff remuneration policies.

We are looking into setting up an independent audit committee, to exact better governance. More will be announced as we nail down the details.

When I learnt of how some co-operatives in Norway, Sweden and Denmark have formed an International co-operative and conducted business as an entity, I was impressed! They have shown that it is possible to overcome the geographical and logistic barrier for the greater need of members. And this means it is possible for co-operatives in our region to come together for common ventures too.

The co-operative movement has a social function, and having a regional office allows members to touch base and establish relationships. The sharing of facilities and services, organising more activites...these are great opportunities to reach out.

NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Lim Swee Say had said that to progress, we need to do more of the different rather than the same. The same things have served us well, but we need to explore our options and see how we can better ourselves.

We have to be cautious of course, and see how to go about this. Some may call us ambitious, but our European counterparts have materialised this reality. We just have to start somewhere; we start with a dream.

In the short term, we are also looking at possibilities of reaching out to the region, for instance, exchange programmes with other co-operatives and learn from each other, especially services and schemes for members such as old age coverage in Japan.

It is absolutely necessary for everyone to be involved so that all would take ownership in charting the future directions of the Co-operative. There must be conviction as well as commitment.

We have come to a consensus that core values are critical in achieving our goals and making our vision come true, with "POSITIVE" values like Professionalism, Optimism, Service Excellence, Integrity, Teamwork, Innovation, Vibrancy and Empathy. In essence, we must have a positive attitude to meet challenges.