In today’s digital world, we are all well-advised to have a reputation management strategy. Given the heightened public and political scrutiny of the wealthiest in our society, it is arguably vital for wealthy individuals to do so.
The growing challenge of maintaining distinct public and private profiles has necessitated wealthy families to have a much greater focus on ensuring all aspects of their lives are aligned. This is made more complicated when you consider the number of stakeholders shaping a wealthy individual’s and their family’s reputation. In addition to colleagues, friends and relatives, these often include employees, professional advisors, trustees and family-owned businesses.
A wealthy family’s personal and domestic staff are also a particular source of reputational and security risk, ranging from damaging employment tribunals and claims, sharing images of the family’s homes and belongings online, divulging private information about the family to colleagues and friends and leaving contractors unsupervised with uncontrolled access to the family’s property.
How can we best ensure the actions of advisors, trustees, and other key stakeholders are not damaging reputationally? Clarity and consistency of message are key - clearly articulated values, aims, and principles form the bedrock of a successful public profile.
Family charters
Multi-generational families sometimes use a family charter to do this. A family charter typically provides an overview of how the family’s wealth was created and the values of the wealth creator. They also set out the family’s rules of engagement with each other, as well as their family business and other stakeholders. Family charters must be living documents that current and future family members engage with. As a family and their team grow, all stakeholders must understand the common goals and objectives. Without this, wealthy families run the risk of advisors operating in a void, filling it with their interpretation of what is required.
To conclude, reputation management is multi-faceted and nuanced, particularly for wealthy individuals and their families. We are all advised to:
- Define our brand
- Communicate clearly
- Be consistent
- Adopt good governance
- Guard our privacy
- Always think twice
Authored by Sarah Haile, Head of Walgate Family Office Services.
