The best SMEs have skills that make them knowledgeable, collaborative and able to share their expertise in meaningful ways. There are many skills that an SME should possess or be determined to grow to positively impact a learning and development project.4
An SME must be an expert in their field. This means they know the theories and have practical experience. They need sufficient hands-on experience in their field to enable them to know how to solve problems and where to go to find answers to questions related to their field.
An SME must be able to explain often complex information in a way that is accessible to a diverse audience. They will likely be asked to write learning objectives and are often asked to write full texts on a topic. They must also have excellent listening skills in order to collaborate with the full course development team.
E-learning projects often run into unexpected obstacles, whether due to aggressive timelines, budgetary constraints or shifting priorities. As such, SMEs should be flexible and able to adapt to changes in the scope of the work. They may need to take on more responsibility in a project or the project itself might scale back on the amount of content that will be included in a course or training module.
Many SMEs are not trained teachers. They do not always know the jargon used when creating learning materials and online courses. But, because of their expertise in their field, they are able to find the right way to approach the work and share information without overwhelming the learners. Creative problem-solving is a must-have skill for all subject matter experts, regardless of field or niche.
An SME is usually employed in their field of expertise. When they work on e-learning projects, they are brought in as consultants, often while still doing their day job. This split time requires SMEs to manage their time well to meet deadlines and keep to the project timeline. An SME should be able to prioritize and stay focused on competing tasks and projects across employers.
Even when an SME is acting as a full-time consultant, time management is critical. Consultants must often juggle many different clients, all of whom may have ongoing projects at any given time. SME consultants must be able to give sufficient attention to each ongoing project, and so time management skills are crucial.
