Building Strategic Alliances: Advocating for Your TPRM Program through Executive Sponsorship

For companies that are building a TPRM (third-party risk management) program from scratch—as well as any hoping to improve the programs they already have—there are a lot of important puzzle pieces to put into place. Our first Foundations Committee meeting delved into the initial steps to take when building a TPRM program to set your efforts up for success.

I want to go a bit deeper into one of the most important steps not to miss: Identifying and engaging a leader who is passionate about risk management and committed to the success of your program.

Building a TPRM program requires a lot of work and resources. An executive champion can help ensure the process moves much more smoothly in a number of ways:

Serve As Your Internal Advocate

Having an influential ally in your organization by your side can significantly ease the process of advocating for the importance of third-party risk management. They can leverage their knowledge and persuasive abilities to help win over any doubters, and tap the relationships they’ve built to help you gain even more support. Moreover, they will understand the priorities of key decision-makers, helping you tailor your approach and design a program that aligns with goals that matter most to leadership, which increases your odds of earning their continued support.

Assist In Navigating Internal Politics

An executive champion ideally won’t just understand what the senior leadership in the organization thinks, they’ll also have a deep understanding of the larger dynamics of the business. The right executive champion will help secure buy-in from all the necessary departments in order to improve cross-functional collaboration and reduce the bottlenecks silos so often cause. And if you encounter someone in the organization resistant to TPRM, an executive champion can be invaluable in more effectively resolving issues and to helping you overcome pushback, paving the way for smoother implementation of the initiative.

Endorse Appropriate Resource Allocation

Like any other initiative, your TPRM program won’t get far without resources. An executive champion can lobby for and endorse the allocation of funding, personnel, and technology, ensuring your program’s sustainability and ability to evolve. With an executive champion on your side, you’ll have an easier time nimbly making changes as new risks, challenges, and opportunities arise.

Foster A Risk Aware Culture

Having a TPRM program is a good start for identifying and reducing risk, but what will really produce better results in risk management is having an entire business culture that’s invested in it. If someone at the top (or reasonably high up in the org chart) is passionate about risk management, their enthusiasm can inspire others. They can infuse the company’s larger policies and priorities with a risk mindset that makes your job easier.

How To Identify Your Executive Champion

Understanding the value of an executive champion may be a lot easier than finding the right champion within your organization. If you’re lucky, your leadership team will understand the value of risk management practices and will be happy to support your efforts. If not, you may be able to find risk-minded supporters in less obvious places such as audit, legal, finance, or even a line of business!

In other words, you may need to look beyond job titles or positions in trying to find the right champion and instead try to identify who in the organization has a passion for risk management. If you have a mentor or colleagues who you know value risk awareness, ask for recommendations or introductions to people they think could help.

It may take some political maneuvering to find and convince the right people to support the program, but with a leader in the organization willing to champion your efforts, the entire process will be smoother and more successful.

Join Us In The Foundations Committee

Want more great information on building a successful TPRM program? Join our Foundations Committee to gain valuable insights and meet other TPRM professionals early in their careers.