Low Peck Kem, a council member of the Singapore Human Resource Institute, explained in the podcast that with sensitive announcements like business closures, some information is usually kept confidential.
But she added that communicating transparently to stakeholders is equally important.
“Nobody likes a rude shock. And generally, for good practices, very often it has to be kept quite quiet because there (may) be a lot of downstream implications,” she said.
“(But) we try to, in confidence, start to break the news. And the important thing is really to get the employees prepared.”
Neither Mr Ong nor Ms Seow is employed by the Singapore Turf Club.
Mr Ong who runs a private stable and Ms Seow, a jockey-in-training, are considered freelancers who do not come under the direct employment of the STC.
Hence, Ms Low pointed out, they are technically not part of the compensation packages. However, Mr Ong feels they are an integral part of the entire horse racing industry – without them, races cannot happen.