What Is a Subject Matter Expert, and Can They Boost ROI?
Summary
This article discusses the role of a subject matter expert and their benefits. It also discussed their roles in boosting your business’ ROI.
Both individuals and businesses must understand the fundamentals of making the most of their investments to improve their economic performance. By analyzing ROI, you can better understand how well your business performs and what aspects can benefit from enhancements to help you reach your objectives.
Hiring a subject matter expert is a brilliant yet often overlooked approach among the numerous strategies for boosting ROI. SMEs offer your business a competitive edge by exponentially upscaling varied business areas through expert domain knowledge.
This article delves into the role of a subject matter expert and outlines some key benefits of integrating them into your business.
Table of Contents:
- Who Is a Subject Matter Expert?
- Six Types of Subject Matter Experts
- What is a Subject Matter Expert’s Role in Increasing ROI?
- Takeaway
Who Is a Subject Matter Expert?
Subject matter expert definition: A person who has mastered one or more specialties in a specific field and can be considered an authority on their subject. SMEs can deliver strategic insights and are often sought after in workplaces that demand a technical approach to their operations and culture.
Their duties are different depending on the company that hired them and the SME’s area of expertise. While some SMEs operate for a single or small set of organizations, many are employed as independent contractors.
Six Types of Subject Matter Experts
SMEs can provide a range of services based on their specialization and industry-specific expertise. Subject matter expert examples include:
1. Technical Subject Matter Expert
The responsibilities of a technical subject matter expert involve assessing organizational needs and suggesting appropriate technical solutions. They also need to supervise the creation, evaluation, and application of various software solutions.
2. Social Media Subject Matter Expert
A social media SME is knowledgeable about more particular topics than merely how to develop a social strategy or influence followers. Instead, this SME concentrates on a specific social media channel, like an Instagram strategy for accounts belonging to online eCommerce businesses.
3. Project Managers
SMEs can also operate in project management, assisting organizations in overseeing complicated tasks that call for expertise in a certain field. For instance, an SME in the construction industry might work on significant construction initiatives, contributing knowledge in planning, organizing, and budgeting.
4. Content Building Subject Matter Experts
SMEs can produce content for various use cases, including technical manuals, advertising collateral, and educational resources. The role of subject matter expert as writers or editors include curating content, which calls for specialized knowledge in a certain topic domain.
5. Consultants
Consultants can be hired to create a new program in the same way that project managers do. For instance, if the human resources department wants to start a recruitment and retention program, they might hire an SME to advise them on best practices and ensure they’re on the right path.
6. R&D Subject Matter Expert
SMEs can participate in research and development, assisting businesses in creating the latest products and services. For instance, an SME in the drug sector might work on developing novel medications or medical equipment.
Also Read: What is a Subject Matter Expert? Exploring the Role and Responsibilities
What Is a Subject Matter Expert’s Role in Increasing ROI?
Utilizing SMEs should be a top strategy for firms to increase ROI. Here are a few ways through which SMEs help in the process:
1. Improves Employee Engagement Rate
According to research, motivated workers are 17% more productive than their contemporaries. Engaged employees are more likely to work hard and make extra effort for their time at work, boosting output and creativity. This has a direct impact on a better ROI.
SMEs advise and mentor the rest of the team on planning, content production, and knowledge exchange. They are often placed at the center of sharing core skills needed for upscaling the project. They typically contribute actively to all phases of project development and are dedicated to the collective approach, which helps to ensure an engaging experience for the rest of the employees.
2. Ensures Increased Productivity
Productivity is key to increasing potential ROI in any business, and SMEs know the tools and techniques for upscaling productivity.
Subject matter specialists redefine how knowledge is utilized with customized solutions suited to the business requirements. This can be through analyzing client preferences, performing brand surveys, or benchmarking analyses. They create the framework for effective information transmission to transform insights into actions.
3. Identify Upcoming Risks to Mitigate Losses
Possible challenges may not be visible to you, but an SME can recognize them beforehand and have procedures prepared to prevent them. Security issues, a lack of technical know-how or resources, poor data authentication and integration, or problems managing existing systems are all potential dangers.
An SME’s early identification of your possible problems can go a long way towards guaranteeing a successful transformation and avoiding expensive blunders later on. This safeguards you from any potential economic losses and boosts your ROI.
4. Helps Define a Budget
A sound budget is crucial to ensuring increased ROI for every project. Creating a budget allows you to determine the financial resources required for your intended objectives and strategies.
However, your estimated ROI should be your top priority when planning your spending and distribution of resources for any project. A subject matter expert gets the budgeting right the first time rather than chalking out trial and error methods. Hence, the process turns out to be cost-effective.
Also Read: Subject Matter Expert – Services Offered by SMEs in Physics, Chemistry, Math, and Biology
Takeaway
Before this article, you may have asked yourself, what is a subject matter expert beyond being a proficient manager? In reality, they play a pivotal role in training, motivating, and providing direction to your workforce, all contributing to enhancing your business’s ROI.
Their value is derived from their deep knowledge and expertise in a particular field. Their extensive understanding of the subject allows them to expedite learning for individuals lacking years of experience. Therefore, the learning curve is significantly shortened as new hires make fewer errors during the onboarding process due to the comprehensive hands-on guidance provided by SMEs.
If you are looking for a subject matter expert to drive better learning outcomes, contact Hurix Digital. We employ an outstanding group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) knowledgeable in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and statistics. Our SMEs are adept at creating assessments, including Algo and video responses, and can develop problems using MathType, LaTex inputs, ChemDraw, etc., without any error.
Gokulnath B is the Associate Vice President – Editorial Services. He is PMP, CSM, and CPACC certified and has 20+ years of experience in Project Management, Delivery Management, and managing the Offshore Development Centre (ODC).