In a global field spanning all industries, the role of an instructional designer takes on many shapes. One of the universal experiences that ties all instructional designers together is engaging the ever-busy subject matter expert.

The source of that challenge is simple: SMEs have different priorities than the instructional designers with whom they work. For example, as instructional designers who work with surgeons, we navigate last-minute cancellations when SMEs must go into the operating room. When having to choose between saving a life or reviewing a course draft, it's obvious what the priority is. That is a more extreme example than what most instructional designers face; nonetheless, for a project to move forward, they must manage the competing priorities.

The right start

The first meetings with your SME are crucial opportunities for gathering information to design your strategy for engagement and making a good first impression.

Find out what drives your SME. Before you begin meeting with them, you can likely gather information about their priorities and begin strategizing for success. Find out why they want to participate in the project. What motivates them? What incentives are they receiving? What disincentives are likely to stand in the way? How can you lean into their incentives or influence the disincentives?

Clearly define the roles and set expectations. Many new SMEs will be unfamiliar with the instructional design process and will need guidance about what they must contribute. Even if a SME has helped develop educational materials before, they may not have worked with your team, and you'll have to walk them through the documents and processes you use.

During the conversation, establish your credibility with the individual by telling them about similar projects you have worked on, showing them examples of your team's work (if applicable), and demonstrating the value you bring to the project.

Create a communication plan. Some SMEs may prefer to communicate via e-mail and will make comments directly in shared documents, while others will prefer to have frequent working meetings with in-depth discussions on the materials.

If you find out during the kickoff meeting that your SME will be on vacation or particularly busy during a certain period, adjust your timeline in advance to accommodate their schedule. It may also be useful to ask whether there is a particular day of the week or time of day that is better for them to receive e-mails, have meetings, or work on the project.

With busy SMEs, it's important to communicate clearly and concisely. Consider using formatting options such as bullets, boldface, and highlighting to make important details stand out in your messages. Condense information and include relevant links and attachments so they don't have to search their inbox for earlier e-mails. Apply your skills for reducing cognitive load so that the SME will be more likely to respond to your requests.

Tool customization

Throughout the project's duration, use a variety of tools to ensure that you and your SME have a shared vision of the project, alignment on responsibilities, and a plan.

Readiness assessment. These customized evaluation tools determine the readiness levels of various project stakeholders at the beginning of the project. Tailor the assessment items to your team. Examples of criteria include the availability of organizational resources for the project, alignment across stakeholders on the purpose and need for the learning experience, and your team's technical skills to tackle the project.

SME database. A database can help you track important details about SMEs, such as communication preferences, working style, software or technology limitations, location and time zone, contact information, availability, and areas of expertise.

Kick-off checklist. Create a checklist for the project's first meeting so you remember to cover any pertinent details with the SME.

RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) chart. A simple RACI chart clearly states who is in charge of each project task. It is most helpful for projects that have a larger development team or multiple SMEs.

Project charter. This guiding document helps to develop and communicate the project's vision. It typically includes information about the project's goals and performance objectives, scope, deliverables, development team members, and stakeholder information.

Sustainability plan. The plan should include details about the project's future maintenance, such as a timeline for course updates and which SMEs will be involved in those updates.

Engagement strategy

Unfortunately, despite how prepared you are, a SME may not respond in a timely manner nor provide adequate feedback. In those situations, you can use various tactics to move the project forward.

Adaptability is key when dealing with busy SMEs. What works for one person may not work for another. Consider the following strategies.

Build rapport. As you get to know the SME, you'll learn more about what motivates them and how you can best collaborate to ensure you complete the project. Relationship building will benefit your project because people are more willing to help those they know.

To strengthen the reciprocal nature of your working relationship, think about helping the SME with related projects. Make the individual feel valued and appreciated. They are a crucial part of the education development process and are devoting valuable time to the project. Share positive feedback with them and celebrate successes.

Emphasize the why. People are more motivated when they believe a project has a meaningful purpose. Do your best to clearly articulate the need and knowledge gaps the education will address so the SME knows they are contributing to an important and necessary project.

Maximize time together. Time is a valuable commodity. Schedule meetings with SMEs far in advance and meet as frequently as necessary. Provide a clear agenda ahead of time and cancel unnecessary meetings to respect the SME's time.

When the meeting occurs, start with your highest priority items so you can get the critical answers to move the project forward. Whenever possible, ask direct questions—yes or no questions will often get you the feedback you need more efficiently than open-ended ones.

Do the heavy lifting. Sometimes, a SME won't have time to work with you on the initial drafts of new content. In those situations, write outlines or first drafts to give them something to react to. It will often be easier for them to say which elements do and don't work instead of overcoming the pressure of starting with a blank page.

Any research you can do on the topic enables the project to progress quickly when the SME has limited availability. Ask whether they have any existing materials (such as articles, recorded webinars, books, or recorded presentations) you can review. Having access to their existing content will help you tailor drafts to their voice and areas of expertise.

Troubleshooting

There may come a time when none of the strategies seem to work because the SME doesn't have time for the project. In that case, determine whether there is any flexibility with the launch date. If there is, ask the SME whether their availability will free up in time to complete the project. If their availability will remain limited, you have a few options.

Reduce the scope. Consider whether a more compressed version of the training solution you are developing could temporarily meet the audience's learning needs. By narrowing the scope, you reduce the time the SME must devote to the project. For example, they may not be able to help you develop multiple e-learning modules but could make the time to record a short webinar on the topic.

Divide the responsibilities. SMEs sometimes can't contribute everything they need to for a project, but they still want to be part of the development. If that happens, try splitting the responsibilities among multiple SMEs so they each have less work to do. Reach out to other experts with whom you've worked or ask the current SME whether they can recommend someone who will be good for the project. If you work with external experts, it's worth evaluating whether any internal staff have some level of expertise on the topic. If they do, their input may reduce the burden on the main SME.

Replace the SME. If their time conflicts are too great to overcome, you may need to replace them. In that situation, the individual may be able to recommend a good replacement. Otherwise, reach out to SMEs with whom you've previously worked. Before offboarding the original SME from the project, find out whether they are open to collaborating in the future once their availability frees up.

Project wrap-up

Using the above strategies and tools, you can successfully launch your new educational content. Make sure to acknowledge the contributions the SME has made. Also, share with them any positive feedback you receive after the launch. Doing so will help them see the value of what they've done and make them more willing to help again in the future.

As you move on to the maintenance phase of a project, determine a plan for future content updates. Ask the SME whether they are willing to be involved in those updates based on the specified timeline or whether they can suggest another expert who would be a good resource for education updates. In the SME database, keep track of availability, willingness to participate in future projects, and any recommendations so you have an up-to-date resource with those pertinent details.

Although working with busy SMEs is a challenge, it is a manageable one. Throughout the development process, you may have to adapt your strategies as the individual's priorities and availability change. Most importantly, make the most of your time with the SME by taking on tasks that reduce their cognitive load and prioritizing the most important elements of the educational content. If a SME has limited availability, make sure your collaborative time together focuses on gaining substantive feedback and expert knowledge.