Online Reporter
By Elgin Chetsanga
The concept of “Risk Champions” has become a valuable, cost effective and agile approach for managing risk across various sectors and industries. The idea of “champions” itself is not unique to the domain of risk management. One of the most popular use cases of
the “championing” approach is the concept of a “quality champion”.
Researchers argue that the quality champion approach is widely attributed to have emerged from the quality management movement in the manufacturing sector in Japan. Quality champions were seen by many as the driving force behind quality improvement
projects, responsible for securing resources, overcoming resistance and ensuring that quality was a strategic priority rather than just an operational task. Quality champions were a huge success.
From Quality Champion to Risk Management Champions
The success observed with quality champions in driving organisational change and fostering a “quality-first” mindset is thought to have influenced other critical areas of business, including risk management. Just as quality needed a dedicated advocate to ensure
its integration and effectiveness, so too did the often overlooked or siloed function of risk. The concept of risk champions grew.
Risk Champions gain popularity.
Alex Dali, MBA, ARM, defines a risk champion as an individual appointed within a business unit or function who advocates for sound risk management, supports the identification and escalation of risks and serves as a liaison between operational teams and the
central risk management function. Risk Champions are not necessarily dedicated risk professionals, but they serve as a crucial bridge between the main Risk function and the rest of the non-risk staff.
Risk champions function as local facilitators for risk management processes within their respective teams. Risk champions typically encourage other colleagues to be more active in pointing out new or emerging risks relevant to their operations. An example could
be an operations person who identifies a potential hazard or a near loss which could potentially lead to failures in the future.
Furthermore, risk champions also help in control monitoring through ensuring that controls are not only being consistently applied. Other roles of risk champions include helping with awareness and training, acting as a point of contact for risk-related queries and
promoting a stronger risk-aware culture through informal guidance and support.
The driving forces for Risk Championing
The adoption of risk champions within organisations has been spurred by several factors. One key factor that researchers cite the enhanced operational agility that it brings. With empowered risk champions, minor issues can be addressed quickly at the
department level without needing to escalate every concern to a central risk team. This leads to more agile risk responses and prevents small problems from becoming large crises.
Researchers also note the cost-effectiveness of the approach. Instead of establishing an expensive central risk team an organisation, the organisation can leverage on existing staff in various departments to function as champions, supported by a compact core risk
function.
This allows the organisation to achieve a broad, embedded risk presence.
Finally, also note that the employees are also a driving factor for the adoption of risk champion model. Becoming a risk champion is an attractive opportunity for career transitioning and professional growth into the risk function. The champion role serves as an
entry point, allowing employees to gain practical, hands-on experience in risk identification, assessment and reporting while remaining in their current department.
Benefits of adopting a Risk Champions Model
Implementing a network of risk champions offers several compelling advantages. Risk champions help improve risk culture by embedding risk responsibility at the operational level. As an example, risk champions within a sales team can ensure that their teams
are actively considering reputational risks in their daily decisions, rather than just relying on the risk department.
Risk champions, who are often frontline employees, are usually the first to spot emerging risks, subtle shifts in operations, or control weaknesses. Risk champions, with their deep understanding of their departmental context, can tap into this invaluable ground-
level intelligence, leading to earlier identification of potential threats and more effective monitoring of existing controls. For example, an IT support specialist acting as a risk champion might notice an unusual pattern of login attempts or system vulnerabilities that a
central cybersecurity team might miss until it escalates.
Managing the Challenges of Risk Champions
Despite the significant benefits, implementing a risk champion programme is not without its challenges.
Some researchers argue that the risk champion role can potentially be viewed as an addition to an employee’s existing responsibilities and without adequate time allocation, resources and support, champions can become overwhelmed, leading to burnout.
However, with proper planning, clear communication of expectations and the right level of organisational support, these challenges can be effectively mitigated, transforming potential obstacles into opportunities for enhanced employee engagement and a more
robust risk culture.
Another challenge often cited is that risk champions face pushback from peers who under value their mandate. Additionally, risk champions might not have the power to enforce specific actions and may need to refer to the central risk team. However, with strong
endorsement from senior leadership, active support from immediate line managers and continuous training, risk champions will become respected pillars of advice in their functions.
Risk Champions worth the investment.
Risk champions, when implemented thoughtfully and supported strategically, represent a powerful tool for embedding risk management deeply within a business’ operational fabric.
They are crucial for fostering a genuine risk-aware culture, enhancing frontline risk identification and enabling more agile responses to emerging threats.
However, success hinges on careful planning, sustained investment in training and support, clear role definition and unwavering commitment from leadership. By balancing the opportunities with an initiative-taking approach to managing the inherent challenges,
organisations can truly unleash the power of their frontline to further their risk management agenda, ultimately building a more resilient and sustainable enterprise.
Elgin Chetsanga is a Risk Management Professional who works for a regional bank. Elgin writes in his own capacity. Elgin can be reached on [email protected]
