Best way to work with SMEs and others to develop quality eLearning?

Hey Steve! Thanks for posting your question here! I think it's awesome that you want to improve the current process. Each SME I've worked with has been so different. Some have more time to dedicate to training, while others have a completely full plate of other responsibilities on top of their SME role. One thing that has helped me a ton is to meet with them in person or face to face via video call. Sometimes having that meeting helped them feel more invested in wanting to work together. Of course, there are a few other things to keep in mind. This article on 4 Easy Ways to Win Over Reluctant SMEs has some helpful ways to build that working relationship.   

And if possible, it's also helpful to plan ahead so you can align expectations and determine the solution together. I wrote this article on Make Working with SMEs a Breeze with These 3 Downloads that walks through that process. You can adjust this to your own needs depending on how much time your SME has. With SMEs that had more time, I was able to go through this process with them. And for those that didn't have much time to meet, I pulled the questions I needed and emailed them so they could answer on their own timeline. It was better than having no information at all. I hope that at least gives you a starting point or something to pull from. Perhaps the community might have other ideas to share that have worked for them.