While watching your Contacts list you could set some of them to be « starred » or « favorites ». Starred contacts could appear on the top of the list, this way it is easier to find them on your contact list.
Starred contacts also could be set as exceptions for the Do Not Disturb mode. In this case, if a starred contact calls you, it could sound even if the device is in silent mode making it possible to have an exception list for silent profiles.
With Sound Profile it is possible to modify the starred list. For example, create a list for Work profile (having your co-workers) and another list for Night profile (having your family).
For more information, please see the help section Create a profile to only accept calls (and/or messages) from specific contacts.