No matter how skilled an ID is, if they don’t practice the skill of communicating and working with clients and SMEs, they are limited in what results they can produce. I would argue that establishing a relationship with collaborators is one of the most important aspects of working as an ID.
“You should always welcome new SMEs to the process of instructional design. Ensure they know how much they are appreciated and how important they are to the process of curriculum design. ”
While I am new to working with clients as an Instructional Designer, I have spent my career serving clients and their needs. As an artist, I was tasked with bringing a client’s vision to life while directing them with my expertise. As an ID, I am learning that the communication skills are the same and I am grateful to already have the practice.
I am fortunate that the manager that supported my transition into ID was incredibly adept at navigating team and client relations and I learned a lot from her. My team is currently managing several high-priority clients under her oversight. Some of her practices that I try to incorporate include:
Over-communicating: Our clients are typically doctors or heads of departments that are very busy and very hard to pin down. It is a delicate balance of giving the client all the information they need but not too much that they gloss over the details. It helps to be concise, highlight or bold the important takeaway, and suggest action steps to them. If we have questions, we schedule meetings for only as long as we need and respect their time by starting and ending on time. Providing agendas prior to the meetings helps the client prepare for the meeting and keep on task.
Document everything: Because we have to work within our clients’ availability and workloads, we are always sure to document all communications and decisions. This is a way to not only protect ourselves but also help to remind clients of past decisions and requests.
Bring them into the process: We have the most success on a project when we describe our process and decision-making to the client. We keep it high-level but allow them to see the “why” behind what we do. This helps establish our credibility and cements us as learning experts. Along these same lines…
State your value: As a part of our introduction process to new clients, we make sure to mention what we can do for the client based on what we have done for clients in the past. We focus on the results we have achieved so that our clients can trust us to do the same for them. It also helps up establish and maintain our value to the enterprise.
Encourage feedback: We want our clients to want to work with us again. So making them feel comfortable and heard is of the utmost importance. We explicitly ask them how they prefer to work, what communication channels they use, when and how they want to give feedback. This way we can adjust our methods and communications to serve the client. We make sure to ask at every meeting if there is something we can do better or if we are not meeting expectations in some way. We also want them to share with us what they appreciate and would do again.
I also find that these suggestions can go a long way in supporting a team. Admittedly, I tend to be shy when meeting new people and usually try to respect their ideas and expertise by staying silent. But I have learned that doing so is a disservice to my teammates and myself. Raising questions, however small, is the best way to strengthen a current solution or to redirect to a better solution. Either way, questions are welcomed! And as I grow in my career, I learn to trust my instincts and expertise more as well which makes me a more confident teammate. I look forward to growing in my knowledge and confidence as I progress.
References
Hodell, C. (2013). SME From the Ground Up: A No-nonsense Approach to Trainer-expert Collaboration.