Our recent research showed that the way HNWIs treat employees is more important than philanthropy, job creation or environmental concerns. In fact, more than 45% of people are swayed both positively and negatively by the way wealthy people look after their employees. The only factor to rank higher was paying tax in the UK.

Employee well-being is a huge opportunity for families

The vast majority of wealthy people take good care of their staff and have excellent employee schemes in place, but much of it goes unnoticed because the family do not think there is any reputational value in it – or, more often yet, do not think to talk externally about employee well-being schemes and programmes.

But by ignoring this easy win, they are missing an opportunity to enhance their public reputation. And while the upsides are high, the potential downside risks are even higher. In cases of mistreatment, the family are often held accountable by the public and media, even if they are semi- or fully detached from the business.

What can families do to seize this quick-win opportunity?

Creating online assets that demonstrate how well a family’s companies treat their employees can be quick and simple; more often than not this information is already collected internally. Curated and published correctly, it can have a significant positive effect on the family’s reputation, control the media narrative, demonstrate their positive impact, and help create a rounded and lasting family legacy.

The vast majority of wealthy people take good care of their staff, but they are missing a huge reputational open goal by keeping that information to themselves.

Of course, most wealthy families and individuals care a great deal about staff well-being. It’s a significant reason for their success. But they may not recognise the importance of communicating what they’re already doing for employees by giving the public – and media – controlled access to data that demonstrates the practical measures their companies are taking right now.