Companies look to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for training that is relevant to their workforces and, when appropriate, to their customer bases. Also, thousands of individuals who wish to upskill themselves in a particular area of interest invest in training offered by SMEs. SME training is beneficial and valuable because it is highly targeted to a learner’s individual needs and contains information only experts in a given subject can provide. By implementing a few tips, SMEs can use the downtime they may have due to the COVID-19 pandemic to improve their training and extend their reach.
3 Ways to Improve SME Training During the
COVID-19 Crisis
The coronavirus crisis is causing upheaval for many types of companies, including online training providers. Here are a few ways Subject Matter Experts can stay focused in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and create subject matter expert training that is more effective than ever:
1. Get feedback from clients
Learner feedback is important because it gives SMEs the insights they need to improve training. And the more effective training is, the easier it will be for Subject Matter Experts to retain their customers and gain new ones. If you aren’t getting consistent feedback from those who purchase your SME training, now is the time to start. If you are, now is the time to step up your efforts in this area.
An easy way to get feedback from customers is to create digital post-training evaluations that ask questions designed to gauge how well your training is helping learners attain their learning objectives. Use your company’s online learning platform to create and distribute these evaluations. Evaluations should aim to ascertain how clear and concise your content is. Additionally, engagement should be assessed by post-training evaluations. For example, you could ask learners to rate the course based on how engaging it was, as well as whether or not the course was interactive enough to maintain their interest.
2. Catch employees up on compliance training
Another reason companies should prioritize BYOD immediately is because it can save them money. BYOD
Subject Matter Expert training companies have varying amounts of regulatory requirements. For example, SMEs that create healthcare or financial services training will most likely have more regulatory requirements than others.
To ensure SME training is high-quality and accurate, take this opportunity when business is perhaps a little slower than usual to get all of your employees caught up on online compliance training. No matter where your training creators are currently located, they can use your online learning platform to complete compliance training remotely. To simplify training, consider only adding only the compliance courses individual employees need to their learning paths, and not simply training workers for the sake of training.
Related Reading: How to use LMS for Compliance Training Certifications
3. Expand the reach of your training company
Due to COVID-19, many organizations are finding that business has slowed down. This may be the case for your SME training company. If so, keep in mind that slower times are ideal for taking a step back and looking at the overall quality of your training, making necessary changes, and expanding the reach of your company.
To continually grow and retain their customer bases, Subject Matter Experts should consistently create new training courses for their audience. This will help with content management by keeping their content fresh and engaging. This doesn’t mean SMEs should spread themselves too thin by creating too much content, or content for too many industries, but it does mean that SME training organizations should be asking their clients what training courses they want to invest in. Using that information, they can expand their reach by crafting new training their learners are most interested in and their staff has the knowledge and capacity to create.
Provide On-Demand SME Training
for Customers With an LXP
There are a variety of learning technologies that SMEs use to deliver their training. An ideal learning platform for SME training is a learning experience platform (LXP). LXPs allow Subject Matter Experts to provide on-demand, remote training for customers. Learning experience platforms can also provide training recommendations for learners based on past course completions and allow customers to effortlessly integrate SME training into their regular workflow.
Are you interested in launching an LXP quickly, in a matter of days? If so, take a look at the TOPYX Quick Start Program. TOPYX provides a simple, fixed-price platform SMEs can use to publish content and provide training programs, exams, and certifications with or without e-commerce options. Request a demo of the TOPYX LXP today.
