According to the ATD, U.S. organizations spent over $100 billion on employee learning and development programs in 2010. That’s a lot of training! And a lot of resources spent. To make trainin...
Published 11 years ago
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It is true that generally, Subject Matter Experts do not lend themselves easily to the conduct of a Training Needs Analysis.
Keep in mind that SMEs are not necessarily formal educators and thus, may not fully understand the need for such analysis. By the very nature of the TNA, the instructional designer must break down the subject matter down to its most basic elements. Being highly experienced members of the target population, SMEs often find such exercise boring and to some extent, pointless.
However, their implication is essential for the accuracy and integrity of the results. Furthermore, their input will be required throughout the development process, and will become vital during the client acceptance phase. So it is worth taking the time to create a positive rapport with them at the very beginning.
Keep in mind that SMEs are not necessarily formal educators and thus, may not fully understand the need for such analysis. By the very nature of the TNA, the instructional designer must break down the subject matter down to its most basic elements. Being highly experienced members of the target population, SMEs often find such exercise boring and to some extent, pointless.
However, their implication is essential for the accuracy and integrity of the results. Furthermore, their input will be required throughout the development process, and will become vital during the client acceptance phase. So it is worth taking the time to create a positive rapport with them at the very beginning.
You definitely need an SME to weigh in on whether the gaps are addressed by skill, though. For example, the best training program will not work if soft skills, like time management, are not in place. In fact, a time management protocol may make training in a particular process unnecessary if the issue is that they know they just don't do.