Why Developing SMEs as Trainers is Essential to Retaining Aviation Knowledge

What are the pros and cons of using SMEs as trainers? 

With “tacit knowledge” (the knowledge that exists in the heads of employees) estimated in 2009 by Polanyi and Sen to represent 80% of all the knowledge that relates to an organization, any loss will clearly negatively impact efficiency, quality and even operational continuity. The complexity of the aviation industry makes that knowledge, and the people who hold it, even more valuable. Not to mention potentially cost-efficient when training budgets are under pressure. Subject matter experts understand the procedures, and the reasoning behind them. They know what the manual says and what it means in practice. They can quickly absorb and explain a new regulation. And they know the organization inside-out. It seems perfectly reasonable to have them run “a quick training session”, and they are often eager to share what they know. 

However, while SMEs are certainly precious sources of valuable information and experience, enabling them to transfer knowledge effectively is not just a question of standing them in front of a class of students. Without an understanding of what people need to learn, how people learn, and how best to convey knowledge, the results will likely not meet expectations. Aiming to pass on what they know, rather than what the trainee needs to apply, the SME can easily overload the learner with too much information, and leave them unsure what is applicable and how to apply it in their day-to-day functions. Worse, a communication style that is highly assertive or directive, or that does not take into account cultural differences, can alienate learners and deter or shut down participation.  

When training has taken place but learning has not, operational effectiveness, efficiency, safety, compliance and customer satisfaction are jeopardized. The exact opposite of the organization’s aims. 

And it can also be a frustrating experience for the eager SME, who may start to doubt their competence, or resent being set up for failure. And that can lose the organization the opportunity to protect and transfer this knowledge. 

What are the essential skills aviation trainers need?  

There are five essential and ongoing competencies that SMEs need to know and practice to become effective trainers. These are learner-centricity, engagement techniques, adaptability, feedback integration, and learning-culture awareness, as follows: 

1.  Focus on what the learner needs to know
   
   
   A training course should be content anchored to relevant, applicable outcomes, rather than an SME sharing everything they know. But SMEs considering becoming trainers, as well as the decision-makers that are keen to transfer their knowledge, are often focused on that expertise. Learning and Development professionals, however, understand that the learner has specific needs, and it is more a question of "what does this person need to take back to the workplace?" Working together as a team, L&D specialists and SMEs can design courses that focus on these specific needs. 
2. Build a toolbox of techniques to engage people
   People learn in different ways, and an effective trainer has a full toolbox of activities and approaches to reach learning objectives through different routes, and encourage and maintain participation. If one method isn't working, they will have alternatives ready that achieve the same outcome. This can be especially important for different training “platforms”. Engaging people in the classroom is very different from an online setting, which is increasingly common today. Formalized on-the-job training requires different skills again. 
3. Be aware of how you engage with people and adapt to them
   Beyond instructional design and techniques, an effective trainer is one that can adapt to the circumstances, and this requires self-awareness. Psychological research shows that people modify how they behave according to situations, and being in a position of authority can lead to a more authoritarian stance, according to Keltner, Gruenfeld & Anderson. In fact, some people may think that it is required of them. When SMEs can recognize their personality traits, communication style, and knowledge biases, and understand how these help people learn or get in the way of it, they can change what they do to better appeal to the learner. Similarly, the international nature of aviation and its highly multicultural workforce mean a trainer can encounter cultural differences in how people learn, as well as how they participate and respond in a learning environment. Many aviation SMEs have no doubt acquired intercultural skills through osmosis over the years, and have learned to adapt their communication, but an effective trainer needs to be able to consciously understand the situation and adapt their interaction.
   
   

   The skill of an effective trainer is in being able to read the room and adapt, be flexible and accommodating to the trainees, but also ensure that they're getting through the learning objectives the training has been designed to achieve.

   
   
4. Integrate feedback to continuously improve
   Post-training evaluation, to understand what worked, what didn't, and what changed in the workplace, validates the effectiveness of SMEs as trainers and allows them to understand where they can develop their delivery further. It also contributes to improving instructional design, as it can reveal gaps or misalignments in what is taught and how it is taught.
5. Actively contribute to a learning culture When trainers, course designers, and leadership work together to ensure training effectiveness, feedback, techniques, and ideas are shared for the benefit of those who train and those who learn. With younger generations more motivated by continuous development – 65% of Gen Z, according to Udemy – organizations with an embedded learning culture will prove more attractive.
   Part of an organizational learning culture is also the opportunity for trainers to learn from each other. This might be through train-the-trainer programs, or it might be by watching their colleagues in action. Instructors might not always be aware of everything they do when they are in front of a class, and sometimes it is the small things that make a big difference. Organizations that provide such skill-development opportunities enable continuous improvement.

How do SMEs-as-trainers help employee retention? 

The UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development defines a learning culture as one that “embeds learning into how things are done at an individual, team and organizational level” based on its review of the research, identifying common concepts found throughout. When SMEs become effective trainers, they can contribute to a learning culture. 

Through the five competencies outlined above, they can help design training that gives employees knowledge they can specifically apply as they carry out their job. They can impart knowledge to individuals and teams. They can encourage them to think about further knowledge gaps and needs at an individual and team level. And they can enable them to provide feedback for the continuous improvement of learning opportunities within the organization. They can also work together as a team to improve those opportunities. But more: they are equipped to effectively pass on their experience in the day-to-day exercise of their functions. 

Organizations that have this embedded learning culture, who “facilitate growth in the flow of work” as consultants Josh Bersin Company put it, are 7.2 times more likely to engage and retain employees, and show the highest retention rate at 57%, as well as the highest internal mobility at 23%, according to the 2024 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2024. McKinsey agrees that best-in-class “learning organizations” show retention rates five percentage points higher than average. 

How can organizations leverage aviation SMEs in learning?  

In a learning culture, subject matter experts who have been developed as trainers are more than instructors. They are able to carry their knowledge out of the training room and into every corner of the organization. Collectively, as an integral part of the Learning & Development department, they form the very backbone of the learning culture. 

When the organization invests in developing SMEs-as-trainers, it tells these experts that their knowledge is of structural importance, and it builds the five competencies outlined above. It gives them grounding in instructional design so they can work alongside aviation L&D specialists to build training that is anchored to what learners need to apply. It develops their delivery skills, enabling them to effectively transfer their knowledge in a way that is adapted to the learners in front of them and the platform they’re using. And it allows them to cultivate practices that enable continuous improvement, individually and as part of the L&D team.  

Trainer competencies, such as adaptive communication, eliciting questions, and constructive feedback, can then be used every day. A senior maintenance technician, for example, can deliver focused, learner-centered training on a specific procedure as a trainer in the classroom. Back on the floor, they will also be better equipped to notice when a newer colleague is applying that procedure incorrectly, to frame the feedback in a way that is constructive rather than critical, and to ask the sort of questions that prompt reflection rather than defensiveness. And in so doing, they model good knowledge transfer for everyone. 

The skills required – self-awareness, adaptability, the ability to engage different people in different ways – are all learnable. And their impact is significant. Building a culture in which SMEs are equipped and supported to share their knowledge, not only keeps the organization's expertise alive, it shows that development is valued, increasing the likelihood of retaining employees, and their knowledge, in the organization. 

How to power up organizational knowledge transfer 

IATA Training has a number of specialized courses and programs to empower your SMEs to pass on their topic and cultural knowledge, and help trainees understand how to apply it: