For many years, trainers and helpdesk personnel provided firms with all levels of support and product knowledge.  Today, this has become a huge challenge; there's just so much to learn.  How can a trainer train and a helpdesk technician help if they are spending a significant amount of their time just learning the software?  Then again, how can they train or provide support if they don't know the software?

These challenges have given rise to the development of the Subject Matter Expert (SME).  You might think of SMEs as dictionaries or references who provide the final authority on what something means or how it is to be performed, while trainers are the readers who turn that authority into information that can be understood and used by others.

A Luxury or a Necessity?
ILTA members represent firms that range in size from small to mega.  Not all firms have the human resources for an SME position separate from training and, in fact, may not have a full-time trainer.  But the topic is worth exploring, if only to help your current training/SME jack-of-all trades better understand the distinctions between the two roles and, accordingly, better perform each function with more efficiency and clarity. 

The SME's focus tends to be more technical in terms of performance specifications and expectations, application configuration, and user-acceptance testing.  Their focus is "getting the product to market" and keeping it ticking.  The trainer is more focused on making the connection between application features and workflow, and effectively communicating this to the user population.

Finally, for those fortunate enough to parse the two roles across two or more employees, the benefits in terms of quality-control cannot be overstated.  The trainer has the assistance of a very knowledgeable person who can evaluate and error-check the learning materials before they are rolled out to the end user.

It's a Partnership
Fred Astaire was universally praised for his dancing.  But Ginger Rogers did it all backwards and in high heels.

So, yes, the trainer must learn much of what the SME has to offer and also apply that information to legal workflow, serving as an interpreter, educator and advocate for technology.  But it can be an enormous relief to share the load of learning applications and relearning them after each update.

At the same time, the SME often benefits from some experience in the presentation and/or training arena.  Getting hands-on experience with e-learning, taking a few courses on instructor-led training (ILT) skills, and reading up on best practices for curriculum development can help the SME communicate material more effectively to the trainer.

So who's Fred, and who's Ginger?  Who cares, as long as the product launch and training is a success?

Food for Thought
Whether you have resources to parse your staff into distinct roles, or whether you must straddle both worlds, the following resources may assist you in doing the same:

Training 101 – A Guide for Understanding Positioning and Measuring the Value of Training:
www.trainingonashoestring.com/Training%20101.pdf

ASTD article – Teaching SMEs to Train: store.astd.org/product_content.asp?prodid=235&type=218

E-Learning 1.0 - Getting the Most from Your SMEs, Learning Circuits magazine: www.learningcircuits.org/2002/jul2002/elearn.html

About our author

Honora Wade, is the DMS Application Liaison for Perkins Coie LLP, having served previously as Technical Training Manager and Service Desk Manager.  She has spoken frequently throughout the U.S. on technology training, e-learning and excellence in user support, including ILTA webinars and annual conferences, and ALA Region 5 and Region 3 conferences.  She is the Vice President of ILTA's User Support Peer Group, and she serves as member emeritus of the Steering Committee of Seattle DigitalEve, an organization focused on enhancing women's opportunities in technology-related fields.  She can be reached at Hwade@perkinscoie.com.