Nuts and Bolts: Working With Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

Years ago I wascharged with developing an online program to replace classroom“training” on the government budget process. The performanceissues involved issues that I thought of as being trivial: managersusing incorrect vocabulary or making easily corrected errors in thepaperwork when dealing with their financial departments.

Experts inthe main budget office were very helpful, but they had just been toodeep in the trenches for too long. When I asked what the averagemanager in the average-manager role needed to know, the experts wouldgo into breathtaking detail about the budget process. And I’m sorryto have to say this, but the details were stupefyingly dull. I wastrying to develop a quick overview to solve small problems; theexisting classroom course on the same content was two days long.

I just wasn’tgetting anywhere with the most obvious SMEs, but I happened to know alocal-level budget officer from a previous job. She was the one whohad worked day-to-day with the kinds of managers who made up thetarget audience.

When I told herwhat I needed she said, “Managers really just need to know how toget what they want.” She explained: “If a manager wants a newroof for her office building, or to upgrade a Jeep used in a statepark, or to get new uniforms for her officers, she needs to know howto ask for that in a way that will help her get it.” Where theother SMEs had been tactical (do it because it’s the rule), thisSME was strategic (if they don’t do it correctly, the paperworkwill be misdirected or delayed or rejected, and they won’t achievetheir goals). The SME went on: “The language the manager usesmatters, the forms she fills out matters, and how requests get routedmatters. The training should focus on that, not on all the otherdetails of the policy.”

The light bulb cameon. I’d found a more meaningful performance-based outcome, thecritical content, and the “What’s in it for me?” factorimportant for gaining learner attention, all in one fell swoop. Theprogram nearly created itself after that.

So don’t justfind an SME — find the right SME. In my experience, organizationswill recommend as an SME the person who has been doing a job thelongest. That person may just have too close a view, as with mybudget experts. Or that person may be carrying years of badpractices, workarounds, and war stories. They often want to sharetheir exceptions to the ordinary: not, “What does the new workerneed to know every day?” but, “This weird thing that happened ona Tuesday in 2006 and how I fixed it.” The better choice isn’talways the most experienced worker, but the most recently competentone: that newer person who remembers what it was like not to know howto do a task, who remembers having to learn and what that entailed.

Here are some othertips for working effectively with SMEs, and getting the help youneed. Remember, we are all SMEs for someone else: think of a time youhave been one. How did it go? What did you learn? What does this looklike from the SME’s point of view?

Ask the right questions:Ask a subject matter expert, “Does the learner need to know this?”and the answer will always be “Yes!” Often SMEs don’tunderstand that we are just trying to get a new performer up tospeed, not create another SME. Instead, try: “Can you give me anexample of when the learner would use this information?” and, “Howoften does that happen?” and, “What is the consequence if thelearner doesn’t know this/perform this?” Don’t ask “What doyou know?” but “What decisions do you have to make?” Turn theconversation to instruction: Cathy Moore(https://blog.cathy-moore.com)suggests asking the SME, “What are three common mistakes?”, andthen turning those into branching scenarios.

Do your homework: Spendsome time researching and reading up on the topic before meeting withthe SME. This will gain you respect, increase your credibility, andsave the SME time in walking you through basic information. Beprepared with examples of your own: if you don’t want them tosuggest a screen-by-screen narrated reading of the procedure, thenshow them another way to present it.

Remember, the SME already has ajob. Don’t expect endless, frequent meetings. Plan for theconversation, and don’t call back three times needing something youforgot to get in the first place. Don’t waste the SME’s time.

Pay attention to therelationship: Begin with the end in mind. The SME hasinformation that you need, so work to cultivate a collegialrelationship — this will help you get the information you need. Berespectful. Appeal to their sense of expertise and mastery. And forgoodness’ sake, say, “Thank you.”