Subject Matter Experts - Tips for Getting the Most Out of the Relationship
The rollout of a training program can be a substantial undertaking for training professionals.
Program management of an upcoming session may include everything from assembly of materials and documents, to the scheduling of sessions, to the actual delivery and the reporting of results back to the key stakeholders.
For those of us involved in the world of corporate training, one of the most critical factors during preparation is gaining knowledge of the actual content to be taught.
This is one of the biggest challenges we face prior to training.
Many times we are not the authority on the subject matter being delivered, yet we are required to know it well enough to be able to teach it to those who do not understand.
This means being put in the position obtaining an understanding of the content from persons more familiar with the topic, usually senior people that the organization designates formally as Subject Matter Experts (SME's).
But working with senior managers and experts within your organization on training issues can be a tricky business.
So what's the best way to work with busy Subject Matter Experts? How do we streamline the working relationship without getting bogged down? Here are some tips for getting the most out of the relationship with your organization's SME's: -Understand their time constraints.
An SME is usually volunteered by management to work with instructional designers/ trainers, usually in addition to their full time position.
As such, they may have very little time and a very busy schedule.
Ask how much time they can spend on the current topic at the onset of the training project.
And try to limit your meetings with your SME to an amount of time that works for them.
- Realize their work history and work style.
Your expert is usually senior manager who possesses vast amounts of knowledge.
However you may find that they have little or no experience working in collaboration with others.
Ease into the relationship at the beginning by stressing who is responsible for exactly what during the project.
Also, establish the method that will be used for communication (email, phone, in person meetings, etc.
) and keep the lines of communication open by responding timely to their inquiries.
- Keep the focus on the "need to know" content.
A Subject Matter Expert may have an inordinate amount of knowledge on their subject area, that's why they are the expert.
The trick is having them focus on the "need to know" rather than the "nice to know" information.
You may often be forced to sift through details in order to get to those important points that need to be stressed during training.
Adjust their focus away from what they think is important, and reset it on the important points that relate to the training needs decided upon by the original stakeholders.
- Be careful of too much leeway.
As senior staff people with years of experience, an SME may feel obliged to overstep the existing role and actually comment on content structure as well as process improvements that should be focused on.
This is only natural for someone that is so close to the content being trained.
Be careful not to let the relationship devolve into one of dictation.
In these instances, always try to re-emphasize clearly that their role as an SME will be to offer up knowledge of the content in question; and your role as an instructional designer/trainer is to learn the content, and to scheme it in a way that is easy for participants to learn.
Pushback may be needed, but always tries to do it diplomatically.
Preparing for a rollout of a training program involves managing a complex project from beginning to end; this includes gaining mastery of the content at hand as well as managing expectations.
And we all know that gaining a strong foothold on the topic to be trained is crucial for success in the training room.
By focusing on the necessary elements of the training topic, and approaching the relationship with our appointed SME with consideration, we can effectively keep the door open between the trainer and the expert.
The collaborative experience will result in a successful training for all involved in the process, as well as the organization itself.
Program management of an upcoming session may include everything from assembly of materials and documents, to the scheduling of sessions, to the actual delivery and the reporting of results back to the key stakeholders.
For those of us involved in the world of corporate training, one of the most critical factors during preparation is gaining knowledge of the actual content to be taught.
This is one of the biggest challenges we face prior to training.
Many times we are not the authority on the subject matter being delivered, yet we are required to know it well enough to be able to teach it to those who do not understand.
This means being put in the position obtaining an understanding of the content from persons more familiar with the topic, usually senior people that the organization designates formally as Subject Matter Experts (SME's).
But working with senior managers and experts within your organization on training issues can be a tricky business.
So what's the best way to work with busy Subject Matter Experts? How do we streamline the working relationship without getting bogged down? Here are some tips for getting the most out of the relationship with your organization's SME's: -Understand their time constraints.
An SME is usually volunteered by management to work with instructional designers/ trainers, usually in addition to their full time position.
As such, they may have very little time and a very busy schedule.
Ask how much time they can spend on the current topic at the onset of the training project.
And try to limit your meetings with your SME to an amount of time that works for them.
- Realize their work history and work style.
Your expert is usually senior manager who possesses vast amounts of knowledge.
However you may find that they have little or no experience working in collaboration with others.
Ease into the relationship at the beginning by stressing who is responsible for exactly what during the project.
Also, establish the method that will be used for communication (email, phone, in person meetings, etc.
) and keep the lines of communication open by responding timely to their inquiries.
- Keep the focus on the "need to know" content.
A Subject Matter Expert may have an inordinate amount of knowledge on their subject area, that's why they are the expert.
The trick is having them focus on the "need to know" rather than the "nice to know" information.
You may often be forced to sift through details in order to get to those important points that need to be stressed during training.
Adjust their focus away from what they think is important, and reset it on the important points that relate to the training needs decided upon by the original stakeholders.
- Be careful of too much leeway.
As senior staff people with years of experience, an SME may feel obliged to overstep the existing role and actually comment on content structure as well as process improvements that should be focused on.
This is only natural for someone that is so close to the content being trained.
Be careful not to let the relationship devolve into one of dictation.
In these instances, always try to re-emphasize clearly that their role as an SME will be to offer up knowledge of the content in question; and your role as an instructional designer/trainer is to learn the content, and to scheme it in a way that is easy for participants to learn.
Pushback may be needed, but always tries to do it diplomatically.
Preparing for a rollout of a training program involves managing a complex project from beginning to end; this includes gaining mastery of the content at hand as well as managing expectations.
And we all know that gaining a strong foothold on the topic to be trained is crucial for success in the training room.
By focusing on the necessary elements of the training topic, and approaching the relationship with our appointed SME with consideration, we can effectively keep the door open between the trainer and the expert.
The collaborative experience will result in a successful training for all involved in the process, as well as the organization itself.
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