Working with Subject-Matter Experts

In higher ed, we often default to giving subject-matter experts (faculty, department/division chairs, leaders of various student services) access and the responsibility to edit and maintain their web content. They often don't have time or interest, and often pawn off the responsibility on administrative assistants (with even less time) or students (introducing liability and a lot of turnover)

If we move to centralizing governance and giving less access to the CMS, how do we best leverage the expertise of those SMEs without the burden? And even if we don’t centralize governance or limit CMS access, how do we do a better job of working with SMEs to source story ideas, optimize key webpages to meet recruitment goals, and just generally help them understand why we do the things we do in digital content?

In this session, we will discuss strategies for improving your working relationship with SMEs, including practical tips you can implement right away, collaboration strategies to make your – and their – jobs easier, and how to communicate with them about the importance of the web and digital work you do.