Nancy P. Bruns, chairman of the board of the Dickinson Group, has a simple way to assess the success of communications from the family office and business to the family: “By the number of people asking questions, or contacting the office, about items that were in the newsletter. If they had read it, they wouldn’t have asked.”
Communication among family members, and to and from the family office, serves multiple purposes. One is practical: sharing information on the family’s investments, for example, or notifying family members when they need to take action. The deeper purpose, though, is to reinforce family bonds and create connections that will endure as the family grows and changes. That means the communication will also include more personal matters, such as family or family business history, or current announcements of births, marriages and deaths.
“Communication is one of the most important elements of the business model,” says Pat Soldano, president of Policy and Taxation Group, an advocacy firm for family office economic and tax issues. “That’s the job of the family office – communicate the information to the family members that they need in a timely manner.”
Bruns’ family has settled — for now, at least — on using several different means of communication for different issues:
“We have a private Facebook group where we encourage all members of the family to be involved – they post birthdays, anniversaries, and other family news, very little related to the business,” Bruns says. “We do a quarterly newsletter from the board, which I write, updating everybody on the business side. We have a family website that includes business information, our family tree going back 10 generations, upcoming events, and meeting minutes – things like that.”
No silver bullet
When it comes to effective family communication, “both the content and the process matter,” says Danielle Oristian York, executive director and president of 21/64, a nonprofit consulting firm that works with multigenerational families and their advisors. “There’s no silver bullet for good communications. It’s a practice. You’ve got to develop it.”
The best plan for a particular family will depend on the size and complexity of the family and of the information to be communicated, as well as on individual preferences. Consider these key questions when determining how — and what — to communicate:

* What information do family members want and need?
Good communication starts with having something to say that family members want — or need — to know. Even the best communications plan will fail if the content of the messages doesn’t engage the family members.
* How large — and how spread out — is the family?
A small family, especially one whose members live near one another and see each other frequently, may not need a highly structured infrastructure unless complex business needs demand it.
“If you have 250 to 500 family members, a newsletter is great, because it’s really hard to build those relationships,” says Rhona Vogel, founder of Vogel Consulting. “Smaller families tend to get together more rather than simply communicating online.”
* How quickly do family members need the information?
Some information is time-sensitive and needs to be disseminated to everyone quickly. With other information, such as routine investment updates, it may be acceptable to use a slower means of sending out the information.
This is where family members’ preferences make a difference. Some family members may prefer to receive printed reports, for example, even if it takes longer to get them. Others, particularly younger family members who grew up with ready access to online information, may expect real-time communication.
“In the past, you had quarterly family meetings in a conference room with a PowerPoint presentation,” Soldano says. “The next generation, they want it 24/7 on their phone.”
* What communication tools do family members use, and what are they willing to adopt?
Families have a lot of options — and many, like Bruns’ family, may ultimately use different communication channels for different purposes. Both cost and security play a role in families’ choices.
Group text messages or WhatsApp groups are common ways for families to stay in touch and tend to have multigenerational appeal. Email may work better for disseminating complex documents, though younger family members may not use it as much. Secure portals are a common way for families to share sensitive material, such as investment-related documents. Larger families or those with more complex needs may consider a digital hub.
The important thing is to communicate to family members in a way that they will receive the message. The most well-crafted communication will not be effective if no one reads them.
Finding common ground
How can a family — or the professionals in the family office — determine what means of communication will be most effective?
“Communication has to be the right kind in the right place at the right time, and it has to be to all generations and all family members,” Soldano says.
York suggests asking a series of questions – and really listening to the answers: “’If I want to get in touch with you, what’s the best way? Is that different if I have a document for you to read? How do I get you information that needs to be secure?’”
After asking questions, York says, get back to the group: “’Every one of you said you don’t like email. But 30% of you said you would like to receive a secure document in email and then a text to tell you to check for it. What ideas do you have about how we could do this effectively and efficiently together?’”
Constant evolution
Finally, remember that even a communication plan that is working right now will not necessarily work in the future.

For example, Bruns’ family has not always used the same communication strategy it does now.
“We did a full newsletter twice a year, with family and business information. While it was great information, we found that not many people read it,” Bruns says.
And they are open to further changes as the family’s needs change.
“We’re considering moving to some kind of texting program where we can get information out faster. It seems like people want shorter spurts of information, little nuggets,” Bruns says. “We’re trying to decide if we need a more robust program. We want to see family members engaged. If we have to change how we’re communicating, then that’s what we’ll do.”