There can be many problems faced while working with an SME.

Only mutual understanding can solve such problems:

Problem No:1 SME’S don’t have time

The biggest problem is that the SME’s might not have time to interact with you on the project. Sometimes, they are so busy with other projects that they don’t have time for your project.

The solution: The solution to this problem is that you need to talk to an SME to know about their schedule and when they are free for discussions. Then, you need to take out time out of your schedule to make time for them. You have to fix the duration of meetings in such a way that they have spare time for you.

Problem No:2 SME’s are unable to provide information

Some SME’s don’t have the patience to have face-to-face discussions.

The solution: You should know that what are the methods in which SME’s want to communicate. Sometimes, SMEs respond better when emails and messages are sent to them. You should communicate with them in their method of choice. You should also focus when SME’S talk to you in any manner possible. You should listen to them with a lot of interest. That kind of attention stimulates them to give their best.

Problem no:3 SME’S often want to take over the project

Now, this is not a keen desire of SME’s. But sometimes, they have certain inputs for the projects which ID’s might not like to implement.

The solution: It’s better to ask SME’s but their creative ideas. They might have ideas about why certain interactions should not be included in a project because it scatters the attention of the user. You can also explain to them certain instructional designing principles and why the course should be designed in your way.

Make sure SME’S don’t use ideas beyond the scope of the project. There can also be graphs to make sure that the content learners understand the scope of the project. The SME’s have complete knowledge of the project. With good authoring tools, the content provided by SME’s can be converted into an elearning project. You will also need to check whether you an SME with the same feelings and ideas about the project as you.

This is how you can easily work with an SME.

Subject matter experts(SMEs) are at the core of elearning.

The subject matter experts indeed guide the IDs what is to be included in course modules.

But since SMEs have a lot of job responsibility in elearning companies, they need to consider some questions. They should be clearheaded in their minds about such questions. But an SME needs to choose the correct niche. An SME might be an IT expert who has all the knowledge about the working of the software. You need to consider some questions before you decide what is the niche in which you have expertise:

Know why do you want to become an SME

You need to know why do you want to become an SME. Is it because you have such a wealth of knowledge and use it to want to make quick money. The reality is that although you want to become a subject matter expert, you need time for it. You need to have some goals in your career. The aim of a subject matter expert should be to allow organizations to help learners imbibe knowledge from your interesting content.

Work on your niche

It’s important to know what your specialist skills are? You need to check your strength and weakness. Apart from your niche expertise, you must have the ability to work with the IDs because they implement what you know. That’s why having a niche is important because problems will arise when you work with IDs and don’t have knowledge about any topic. You should therefore have a roadmap for improvement when it comes to your chosen niche topic. Also, you might choose your niche and develop it depending on what is the skillset which has a target audience.

The niche should be something that you are interested in. You should research all the topics that interest you and whether they are worth investing your time and money in. This depends on their demand in the market. If a topic is riveting enough for you that you are willing to talk to others about it and partake in discussions, then it’s worth being your niche. Also, you must have complete mastery of the topic and be able to communicate the benefits.

Do some research about the way the learning and development industry works

You might have chosen your niche, but there is no guarantee that employees need to be trained about it. Does this niche feature in the goals of the organization. Check out the learning and development industry to see if your idea is of any use. Has the organization recruited any learning and development professionals to impart training about this topic? Does your niche’s article ever feature on the online discussion forums of the company or the company website? Are there article directories that have enough content about the topic?

Find out about the SME training required

You might have to undergo some extra training to assume the role of an SME for some niches. For example, some certifications might be needed so that companies don’t have to bear any compliance risks. Compliance risks can arise because the company will train the employees based on the learning material you help in developing. Therefore, if any certification is needed before you can truly be called a subject matter expert in your chosen field, then you should know about the same. As an SME, if you are planning to start an elearning consultancy, know what is the training required to embark on the same role.

So, before you start working as an SME, you need to work on your core strengths, so that you have true demand in the elearning companies.

Tag: SME

How to make SME’s contribute to your project productively?

There can be many problems faced while working with an SME.

How can you become a noteworthy SME?

Subject matter experts(SMEs) are at the core of elearning.