Choosing Subject Matter Experts

We recently wrote an article for an association magazine about associations that change their volunteer leadership structure and elections process to ensure that they have qualified leaders sitting on committees and boards. For certifying agencies, qualified volunteers are also needed as subject matter experts to participate in the development of assessment instruments. We went through our archive of resources and came up with these tips for selecting a balanced and qualified group of SMEs.

Qualities to consider when forming a group of SMEs:
• Expertise (knowledge and experience)
• Diversity (gender, ethnicity, geography)
• Balance (work setting/practice type, area of specialization)
• Representative of the job/skill

Individual characteristics to look for in all SMEs:
• Appropriate level of knowledge and experience
• Willingness to provide the necessary time and effort
• Ability to work well with others
• Ability to meet deadlines

Do you have other tips to share on finding qualified subject matter experts? Share them in the comments box.

Are you keeping in touch with certificants?

We hear it time and time again—we want to reach out to potential certificants and convince them to obtain our credential. Building your certificant base by marketing to the non-certified professionals in your database is an important goal. But, don’t forget that you have an audience of professionals who are already certified that also need your attention.

In a world where consumers of our services expect a personal touch, not spending enough time communicating with current certificants can cause a problem.

This group is your bread and butter. If you’ve done your job correctly, they’re out there spreading the word about the value of your credential to their non-certified colleagues. If you haven’t given them the tools to spread your message, what do you think they’ll be saying about you?

Most organizations produce a periodic newsletter, but there are so many other mediums to consider. An electronic update, for example, that’s sent to all certificants with email addresses (and hopefully you have a lot of them by now) that highlights deadlines, news, updates on new products, events, etc. You might also consider starting a blog. Not everyone is blog savvy, but try testing a blog with a test group of certificants (maybe volunteers on committees) to see if it will take off. Don’t forget the value of a piece of mail. We’re firm believers in the cost benefits of mediums like email, but a good communicator knows that you have to have all of your bases covered and that means incorporating snail mail into the mix.

The key is to develop a plan to keep communicating with your certificants so they have the information to spread the word about you to potential certificants.