More and more organizations are realizing that the best resources for learning and development (L&D) are the people who are already in the company. By identifying, empowering, and integrating subject matter experts (SMEs) into the L&D process, companies can create a more robust and cost-effective approach to professional growth.
In this article, inspired by our guest, Mindscaling’s President and Founder, Shawn Hunter on Episode 1 of our podcast, L&D in 20, we’ll explore the importance of utilizing internal expertise, discuss methods for identifying and empowering your SMEs, and look at the benefits and cost-effectiveness of this approach. We’ll also cover how to measure the impact of internal expertise versus external training, because no L&D program is complete without an analysis.
Why internal expertise matters for L&D
When your team members see their knowledge and skills being valued and utilized, they feel a sense of worth and belonging. This recognition not only lifts their spirits, but deepens their commitment to the organization as well. And we all know that happy employees that feel involved are better for the company. This involvement sends a powerful message that their contributions are truly valued.
And let's not forget, colleagues are more likely to listen to someone they know and share experiences with. They can bring a unique perspective that external trainers often can't match, with insights grounded in company culture, processes, and challenges, making the learning experiences more relevant and practical. Plus, familiarity builds trust and credibility, ensuring that knowledge transfer is more effective and impactful.
Cost savings of training lead by internal expertise
For many organizations, especially smaller and midsized businesses, budgets are tight, and every penny counts. By harnessing the expertise that already exists within your company, you can implement L&D initiatives without breaking the bank. This means more frequent and tailored training sessions, keeping your workforce up to date with the latest skills and trends. And you'll be able to respond more quickly to changing business needs, giving your company a competitive edge.
Shawn Hunter, President and Founder of Mindscaling and our guest on Episode 1 of L&D in 20, underscores the worth of internal expertise in establishing a self-sustaining L&D ecosystem. He shares, "So, all of a sudden you've now populated your learning and development curriculum with the experts inside your own organization, who will then go out and be ambassadors for what you've created. And bonus points: It doesn't cost very much." This is really a win-win for most organizations.
By empowering internal experts, organizations can cultivate a culture of continuous learning and development where contributions are encouraged and knowledge is freely and eagerly shared.
Identifying subject matter experts in your organization
To get started on finding the right employees to contribute to L&D programs, it’s important to understand what makes someone a great subject matter expert (SME).
Look for these attributes:
- They have a deep understanding of their area of expertise, and continue to seek out new information to learn and hone their skillset.
- They have strong, often-celebrated leadership skills people admire. If they're a people manager, you'll notice their team is happy and productive as a result.
- They have a passion for sharing what they know with others. They’re not just knowledgeable — they’re excited to help others learn and grow.
One way to spot these valuable team members is by asking their peers who they look up to, think of first when asked about influence, and who is a remarkable public speaker. Who better to identify a subject matter expert than colleagues who seek them out for advice? Performance reviews can also help identify SMEs. Managers and supervisors can provide recommendations based on their observations of an employee’s competencies and contributions.
Let's not forget the power of the pen — or keyboard. Writing skills are a must for SMEs, who often craft training materials, manuals, and other documents. The ability to write clearly, concisely, and accurately is essential because while the L&D team will help guide these internal experts, you want them to own their storytelling. SMEs should be able to organize and present information in a way that's easy to understand and navigate.
When you create an environment where employees are encouraged to share their knowledge, you're not just boosting the company's bottom line. You're also nurturing higher levels of engagement and morale. By recognizing and rewarding these individuals for their contributions, you're inspiring others to follow suit, creating a culture of active participation in learning and development.
"So then when they go back to their colleagues and they rave about, the workshops they went to and the asynchronous learning and mentoring they had. The job rotation and all of these different practices that you implemented into your curriculum. All of a sudden, they also become ambassadors," Shawn Hunter shared on the podcast.
Empowering SMEs as learning facilitators
Once you've identified 'who,' you'll move onto the 'how.' Transforming our subject matter experts (SMEs) into effective learning facilitators is a crucial step in leveraging internal expertise in L&D initiatives. To get there, we need to provide a structured framework that offers autonomy while ensuring alignment with our broader goals. The key is to give our SMEs the responsibility and authority over their areas of expertise, allowing them to share their knowledge in a way that's both engaging and effective.
While SMEs contribute their deep domain knowledge, L&D professionals can provide specialized support in areas such as instructional design and learner engagement. This collaboration ensures that training programs aren't only informative but engaging and aligned with best practices in employee development we well. By offering guidance, L&D can help SMEs develop the skills needed to become effective facilitators, ensuring a seamless knowledge transfer and a blooming partnership.
Don't forget to make sure your new internal experts have access to technology, learning platforms, and a system of ongoing feedback just as any faciliator would. By investing in these resources, organizations can ensure that SMEs feel supported and valued. Regular check-ins and content reviews can help identify areas where SMEs may need extra support, keeping learning initiatives on the right track.
It's a delicate dance to let SMEs spread their wings while keeping everyone moving in the same direction. We've found that maintaining a strong, clear link between their work and the company's big picture is key. When you set the stage with clear expectations and keep internal SMEs in the loop on how their contributions are making a difference, we're not just upskilling our workforce — we're building a team that's truly invested and motivated.
Three ways to integrate internal expertise with existing L&D programs
There are many ways you can integrate your SMEs into your employee training programs, but incase you're feeling stuck, we'll share some of our ideas to get you started. You could start by organizing structured sessions led by subject-matter experts. This is the most straightforward way of adding in content and can take various forms, such as workshops, webinars, or interactive presentations, allowing SMEs to share their specialized knowledge directly with their colleagues.
If you have multiple employees who have stepped up and said 'yes' to participating in learning programs, try introducing personalized mentorship programs. Pairing eager employees or those with skills gaps with experienced mentors can provide tailored guidance and support for employee development. Mentorship programs facilitate knowledge transfer and help mentees gain insights that are specific to the company's goals and culture through internal leaders. This can significantly enhance retention of learned skills and lead to career growth.
A third option for integrating your stand-out SMEs into L&D initiative is through knowledge hubs. In a knowledge hub, SMEs contribute to the creation of training materials, digital resources, and knowledge bases directly, acting like a member of the L&D team. This can really beef up training programs and add a perspective that feels relatable to other employees if done right. This could look like articles, videos, podcasts, or interactive modules. By weaving in those SME insights, your content can have a fresh take and be in sync with what your employees need.
The impact of internal vs. external expertise on employee learning programs
Measuring the impact of internal SMEs versus external expertise will involve assessing metrics like information retained, employee engagement levels, motivation to act, and satisfaction with training. There are a few outcomes you can expect to see rise if you include internal experts in your training:
- Internal experts often bring a deeper understanding of the company's unique challenges and culture, making the learning experience more relevant and practical. This relevance can lead to higher knowledge retention and more immediate application of skills.
- By tapping into in-house talent, you save time and money. You'll have a more tailored approach to training that's relatable to employees, a time-saver for the L&D team who normally has to be or find the expert, and no one has to upskill the expert on the organizational values — they should already know it!
- When our own people step up to lead the charge in training, they get to share their expertise, but their colleagues get to learn from someone who truly understands the company's culture and needs. An external expert can't fabricate this connection.
If you choose to introduce internal team members to your L&D trainings, it's important to be mindful of potential pitfalls as well, like bias or gaps in knowledge. Employees may lack an objective approach to training, especially if they've never been this involved in it before.
The perfect blend for employee learning and development is meeting in the middle. We recommend sticking to objective, third-party-regulated experts for content that can pose a serious risk to the business or employees if not taught in a specific way. In moments like these, leave it to the external experts. Our team here at Go1 can help you deliver learning and compliance training from well-known and highly sought-after content providers. But for those moments when some storytelling built into the employee training can engage your team best, or you know employees need a surprise guest to reenergize them on a specific topic, add your internal SMEs to the mix.
For more on the topic of incorporating internal experts in your learning programs, be sure to check out L&D in 20 Episode 1: Building empathy and trust on teams with Mindscaling’s President and Founder Shawn Hunter
