Why every adult social care service needs champions, and how to make sure they are not tokenistic
Published: 2026·Reading time: approximately 14 minutes·Category: Person-Centred Care & Leadership Culture
This article explores why most adult social care services have champions on paper but not in practice, and how to fix that. Drawing on fifteen years of championing champions, it sets out a practical path: how to identify the right person for each role, how to appoint without slipping into tokenism, how to develop champions through time, training, conversation, and visibility, and how functioning champion roles strengthen culture, distributed leadership, and CQC compliance. Includes nine champion roles worth considering and a self-diagnostic to test whether your existing champions are functioning or fading.
Read this as a member
Carevia helps registered managers move past compliance-as-box-ticking and build distributed leadership through champions. This article is one piece of that. The tool behind it is part of membership.
Since I was a deputy manager over fifteen years ago, and later as a registered manager and quality manager, I have championed champions. Not as job titles. As a way of leading a service. I have seen them transform standards, and I have seen them written into induction packs and never spoken of again. The difference is rarely the staff. The difference is the leader.
From the manager's chair
In one service, I had champions in activities, infection control, fire safety, medication, communication, nutritious meals, and more. I did not randomly select people and leave them to it. I took time to understand each staff member's strengths and natural passions. I set specific actions. I discussed progress. I held people accountable, kindly but clearly.
The effect was practical. Instead of me having to constantly check cleanliness, the infection control champion knew what good looked like and supported colleagues to understand where standards needed to improve. Instead of me chasing activities, the activities champion knew what good engagement looked like and held the standard with the team.
One afternoon stays with me. Activities had not happened that day. Shift leaders had quietly decided they were not running. The activities champion told me. The decision was reviewed through policy, and the pattern did not repeat. The champion had not just held a title. They had been my eyes and ears in the part of the service I could not be in at that moment. That is what champions are for.
They maintain standards whether you are in the service or not. They notice what you cannot notice. They prompt what you cannot prompt. They hold what you cannot hold alone.
What a champion actually is
A champion is not a title. It is a role. The title can sit on a noticeboard for years and change nothing. The role is what matters.
A champion is the person in a team who has been entrusted with a specific area of practice. They are not necessarily the most qualified person in the team. They are the person who genuinely cares about that area, who can hold the standard, and who can bring others with them. They are the person who notices when practice drifts and acts on it before drift becomes risk.
Champions are not auditors. They do not police. They model. They support. They escalate where they need to. They do the quiet, consistent work that keeps a standard alive between the formal audits, the supervisions, and the inspections.
"A champion in name is a job description. A champion in practice is a culture carrier."
Why services need champions
Registered managers cannot be in every part of the service at once. You cannot personally check the colour of every mop bucket, observe every medication round, witness every interaction, or hear every conversation about wellbeing. You rely on systems, on records, and on staff. But systems and records can both look complete while practice quietly drifts.
Champions reduce that gap. They distribute the work of holding a standard across a team. When champions are functioning well, you do not need to chase every detail yourself, because the people closest to the practice are already noticing, already prompting, already raising what needs raising.
That is not delegation. It is leadership through people. It is also one of the markers of a service that is genuinely well-led, in the sense CQC uses the term. See our article on what good looks like for Well-Led for more on this.
Champions also strengthen culture. A service where one person carries every standard alone has a single point of failure. A service where standards are carried by champions has resilience. When the manager is off, the standard does not slip. When a senior is on annual leave, the champion is still there.
How champions become tokenistic
This is the harder half of the article. Champions only work if they actually function. Most services that have champions on paper do not have champions in practice. The difference is visible within a fortnight of asking the right question.
Ask three staff members: who is your dignity champion? If two of them do not know, the role is tokenistic. The title exists. The role does not.
Tokenism usually happens in one of a few ways. Champions get appointed because someone was told they should appoint them, not because the manager believed in the role. Champions get chosen for availability rather than passion or strength. Champions get appointed and then never given time, training, or feedback. Champions get added to induction packs as part of the service description, and then never spoken of again until the next inspection looms.
Tokenistic champion roles
Appointed because the role was vacant
Selected for availability, not strength
Given a title and a certificate, nothing else
Never reviewed, supported, or developed
Unknown to colleagues outside the noticeboard
Mentioned only when CQC is due
No actions, no expectations, no follow-up
Functioning champion roles
Appointed because the person genuinely cares
Matched to strengths, interests, and influence
Given specific actions and clear expectations
Reviewed and developed regularly
Known to colleagues, visible in practice
Embedded in supervisions and team meetings
Held accountable, kindly but consistently
The uncomfortable truth is that a tokenistic champion is worse than no champion at all. It signals to the team that the role does not really matter. It teaches staff that titles in this service are decoration, not function. That is a culture problem, and it spreads.
If you have just recognised your champions in that description, you are not alone
Most services that appointed champions did so with good intentions. The drift into tokenism usually happens quietly, over months, without anyone noticing. The Champion Strengths Profile in Carevia Pro+ is built to reverse that. A structured strengths review for each of the nine champion roles, anchored in the RAOF Action Cycle, with progress tracked across reviews and a print-ready record at the end. It is how managers move champions from title to practice.
The first step is to know your staff. Not their qualifications. Their strengths and their natural passions. The member of staff who lights up when talking about a person's life story may be a natural communication champion. The one who quietly tidies the medication trolley without being asked may be a natural medication champion. The one who notices a quiet resident is not eating may be a natural nutrition and hydration champion. The strengths are there. The leader's job is to see them.
If you are appointing a champion and you find yourself thinking "they are the only one who would do it," that is a warning sign. Champions appointed by elimination rather than recognition almost always become tokenistic. Better to leave the role unfilled until the right person can be identified than to give the title to someone who is unlikely to carry it.
Better still, build the role into your recruitment strategy. If you cannot find someone to champion dementia, infection control, or activities within your current team, the next time you recruit, include the role in the advert. "We are looking for a support worker with a passion to drive standards forward in dementia care. This role includes the opportunity to become our dementia champion, with protected time, development support, and a meaningful voice in shaping practice." You will attract candidates who want to be a champion, rather than asking a team member who never did.
That is also a stronger signal to candidates than most adverts give. It says you take development seriously. It says you value passion alongside competence. It says the service is not just hiring carers, it is building a team where people can grow into roles of influence.
The second step is to be explicit about expectations. A champion appointment should always include a conversation that covers:
What the role is and what it is not
What specific actions the champion will be expected to take
How often you will meet to discuss progress
What support and development you will provide
How the champion will be recognised within the team
If you cannot answer those questions clearly at the point of appointment, you are not ready to appoint. That is fine. Wait, and prepare. The role lasts longer than the conversation that creates it.
The cost of appointing without preparing
Most failed champion roles do not fail at the work. They fail at the appointment. A staff member who is given a title without a conversation, without expectations, and without time, will quietly absorb the message that the role is decorative. That message is hard to undo later.
A champion who is appointed and forgotten will fade. A champion who is supported will grow into the role, and so will the standard.
Development looks like four things. Time. Training. Conversation. Visibility.
Time. Champions need protected time to do the work. That might be an hour a fortnight set aside specifically for the role. It might be inclusion in monthly meetings with the manager. Without time, the role is symbolic.
Training. A champion who has not been given a chance to deepen their knowledge will plateau at their current level. Champions benefit from external courses, reading lists, network membership, and peer connection with champions in other services. The investment is small. The return is high. This connects directly to the principle that training does not equal competence. Champions develop through reflection and applied practice, not certificates alone.
Conversation. Champion reviews should be a regular part of your supervision and oversight cycle. Not as another performance measure. As a real conversation about what is working, what is not, what they have noticed, and what they need. Champions often see things you cannot. The conversation surfaces it.
Visibility. Champions should be visible to the team, to people supported, and to families. Not as a poster on the wall, but as a real role. Mentioned in team meetings. Introduced to new staff during induction. Referenced when an issue arises in their area. Visibility is what keeps the role functioning between formal reviews.
The pride that drives standards
There is one factor that separates a functioning champion from a quietly fading one, and it is not training. It is not time. It is not even support. It is pride.
When a staff member feels genuine pride in being the dignity champion, the medication champion, the activities champion, something changes in how they carry the role. They start to notice things they would not otherwise have noticed. They speak up about practice that falls short, because second best does not sit comfortably with someone whose name is attached to the standard. They look for ways to improve their area. They read about it in their own time. They bring ideas to supervision.
That is not personality. That is what happens when you select the right person and treat the role with the seriousness it deserves. Pride is the emotional engine of every champion role that actually functions.
The opposite is also true. A staff member who feels no pride in their champion title will hold it the way they hold any other task. Without ownership. Without innovation. Without the quiet refusal to accept poor practice that makes the role valuable in the first place.
This is why the appointment conversation matters so much. A champion who walks out of that conversation feeling chosen, trusted, and recognised will start the role differently from one who walks out feeling allocated. The same person can be either, depending on how the appointment was made. The leader's job is to make sure pride is possible from the first day.
Nine champion roles to consider
The right champion roles for your service will depend on the people you support, the regulations that apply, and the areas where you most need distributed leadership. Below are nine roles that work well in most adult social care services. Some you may already have. Others may be worth considering.
Champion roles worth appointing
Dementia
Safeguarding
Infection prevention and control
Medication
Dignity and respect
Mental Capacity Act
Falls
Nutrition and hydration
Activities and wellbeing
You do not need all nine. A small service might appoint three or four. A larger service might benefit from the full set. What matters is that the roles you do appoint are taken seriously, developed properly, and reviewed regularly.
Carevia Pro+ · Digital Tool
The Champion Strengths Profile
Carevia Pro+ includes a structured strengths review for each of the nine champion roles, built around the RAOF Action Cycle. It replaces generic tick-box reviews with a complete evidence-gathering and improvement cycle, helping champions think and act like the regulator.
Nine champion rolesRAOF Action CycleCQC-alignedPrint-ready records
Reviews are tracked across time. Progress is recorded. Qualifications are logged. Every completed record is print-ready for signature. It is the practical way to grow champions beyond appointment.
Champions are not a CQC requirement in themselves. But CQC do look for evidence that the service has distributed leadership, embedded learning, and a culture that does not depend on a single person. Functioning champion roles support several quality statements directly.
Learning culture. Champions are often the route by which learning spreads through a service. When learning happens only in the manager's office, it does not embed. When learning happens through champions, it reaches the people delivering the care. See why CQC flag learning culture as not fully embedded.
Treating people as individuals. Champions in roles such as dignity, communication, and activities are the people most likely to recognise where person-centred practice has slipped and most able to bring it back. The person-centred care article develops this point in full.
An inspector who walks into a service and asks staff who their dementia champion is, and what the champion has done recently, learns a great deal about the service in under a minute. The answer should be confident and specific. If it is not, the role is tokenistic, and that is a culture signal an experienced inspector will recognise.
Build the culture, do not just measure it
Champions are how a standard becomes a culture
The Champion Strengths Profile is part of Carevia Pro+, alongside the Inspection Readiness Dashboard, the RAOF Time Planner, and the full library of governance tools. One membership. The mechanism by which distributed leadership becomes real.
Common questions from registered managers about champion roles, appointment, development, and how to keep them functioning rather than tokenistic.
Are champion roles a CQC requirement?
No. There is no specific regulation that requires services to appoint champions. But several quality statements look for evidence that leadership is distributed, learning is embedded across the team, and the service does not depend on a single person to hold standards. Functioning champion roles are one of the clearest ways to evidence those things.
The risk with champions is that they become a compliance gesture. A title in an induction pack does not evidence anything. A champion whom colleagues can name, who has recent actions and visible impact, is evidence an inspector will recognise immediately.
How many champions should a service have?
It depends on the size of the service, the people supported, and where you most need distributed leadership. A small domiciliary service might function well with three or four champion roles. A larger residential service might benefit from a fuller set across the nine roles outlined in this article.
It is better to have three functioning champions than nine tokenistic ones. Start with the areas of highest risk or greatest opportunity for improvement, and grow from there.
What if no one in my team feels like a natural champion for a particular role?
Leave the role unfilled until the right person can be identified. Appointing someone by elimination almost always produces a tokenistic role, which is worse than no role at all because it sends the message that titles in your service are decorative.
An alternative is to invest in developing someone toward the role over time. A staff member with potential and interest in dementia care, for example, can be supported through training, reading, and shadowing before formal appointment. The role then begins with foundations rather than expectations.
How do I know whether my champions are tokenistic?
Ask three staff members, separately and unannounced, who the dignity champion is and what that champion has done recently. If two cannot answer, the role is tokenistic. If they name the person but cannot give a recent example, the role is fading.
Other warning signs include: the champion's name has not appeared in any team meeting minutes for three months; the champion themselves cannot describe their recent activity in any specific terms; the role exists only on the noticeboard and in the induction pack; no champion review or check-in has taken place this year.
How should champions be supervised?
Champion activity should be a standing item in supervision for any staff member holding a champion role. Not as a performance measure, but as a real conversation about what they have noticed, what they have done, what is working, and where they need support.
Champions also benefit from a dedicated champion review at least once a year, separate from general supervision. This is where progress is recorded, qualifications are updated, and the role is formally renewed or stepped back from. The Carevia Champion Strengths Profile is built for this purpose.
Can a staff member hold more than one champion role?
Yes, but be careful. Holding two related roles can work well, for example dignity and communication. Holding four or five usually does not, because the time, attention, and development needed for each is real. A staff member with five champion titles often ends up doing the work of none.
A useful principle: a champion role should fit within the time the staff member can genuinely commit to it. If they cannot describe their recent activity in any specific terms after three months in the role, they probably hold too many.
What is the difference between a champion and a senior?
A senior has positional authority, usually with a job title, pay grade, and formal responsibilities such as shift leadership. A champion has a specific focus, regardless of seniority. A champion can be a support worker, a senior, a nurse, or a deputy manager. The role is defined by the area of practice, not the hierarchy.
This matters because tying champion roles to seniority defeats the purpose. The best dignity champion in a service may be a long-standing support worker who has never wanted promotion, but who quietly carries the standard better than anyone else. Recognise them for that.
What happens if a champion leaves the service?
Plan for it before it happens. A functioning champion role should not depend entirely on one person. The work the champion has done, the standards they hold, the materials they have created, should all be accessible to the team and to whoever picks up the role next. Champion records, evidence files, and improvement plans should not live only in the champion's head.
When a champion leaves, treat the handover seriously. Brief the team. Identify a successor through the same careful process used for the original appointment. The role does not have to be filled immediately. It is better to wait and identify the right person than to rush.
How do I make champion roles visible to inspectors during a CQC inspection?
You do not make champions visible during inspection. You make them visible all the time. An inspector will not be impressed by a list of champion names on the office wall. They will be impressed when they ask a support worker who the dementia champion is, what the champion has done recently, and what the staff member has learned from them, and the answer comes confidently and specifically.
If your champions are functioning, inspection will reveal it without effort. If they are not, no amount of paperwork at inspection will hide the fact. The work to make champions inspection-ready is the work of making champions function in everyday practice.
