UBS has implemented a Subject Matter Expert (SME) program where experienced employees in different areas of the business provide training to other colleagues. Maria Jose Jorda is an SME who gives presentations on her work as a project manager for the ARTE portfolio tool. She enjoys sharing her expertise with others and getting feedback to improve her training skills. The SME program identifies candidates through seminar participation and manager recommendations to pass on specialized knowledge across the organization.

1. Welcome to Global WM&BB
Living our Strategy - Global Exchange : Friday, 7 March 2008 - 16:20
Learning from colleagues
Since spring 2007, Human Resources & Education training has been reinforced
with experts from all areas within the bank: Known as 'Subject Matter Experts' they
have been passing on their knowledge to other colleagues at seminars. Maria Jose
Jorda is one of them.
2:30 p.m. at the UBS training center in Zurich Altstetten: Maria Jose Jorda makes the final
preparations for her guest lecture at the seminar 'Project Management Essential Skills'.
She briefly goes through her presentation again with the two instructors. The expert from
business area Products & Services will present her current project to the seminar
participants: She is the business project manager of ARTE, an important new tool for
designing and administering model portfolios, among other things. For the past two years,
she and many of her colleagues have been working on this demanding large-scale
project. The seminar participants will now benefit from her experience.
Advice from experienced colleagues
Maria Jose Jorda, Investment Solutions, is one of
many Subject Matter Experts (SME) at Global
WM&BB. An SME brings their specialized
knowledge from the varying areas of the business
group and passes on this knowledge to larger
groups at seminars in addition to their regular
duties. "We are confident that this is the best way
of imparting banking expertise. The SMEs are
credible and experienced. As hands-on experts,
they know what they are talking about, and can
pass on many valuable tips," declares Michel
Gauch, SME management at Human Resources &
Education.
Developed at the end of 2006, the SME concept
has been put into practice since spring 2007.
These experts are active in many areas of
education and training: in project management,
leadership seminars, lead-offering training and
new employee orientation programs. There are
different ways SMEs may be involved with training:
Committed to training and education:
Project manager Maria Jose Jorda is
one of the Subject Matter Experts.
As lead instructor, they have full responsibility for the entire course.
Co-instructors support the seminar leaders and have responsibility for parts of the
course.
Guest speakers give short presentations on specific topics.
Content providers develop content for training measures.
Discovered at a seminar
Maria Jose Jorda has already been a guest
speaker at seminars three times. How did she
become an SME? "I was a participant myself at
the 'Project Management Advanced Skills'
workshop. A few days later I was called by the
Seite 1 von 3Subject Matter Experts: sharing specialized knowledge with colleagues
20.03.2008http://bw.ubs.com/page/print/1,1209,834-284434-1-0,00.shtml

2. course leader, Angela Weiss, who asked me if I
would be interested in becoming an SME and
sharing my knowledge with other UBS
colleagues." Shortly afterwards, the two met for
first talks.
The example of Maria Jose Jorda is quite typical:
HR&E instructors sometimes come across
potential SME candidates at seminars and then
directly approach participants. In addition,
business units also propose employees as an
SME – there is a contact at HR&E for each area
within Global WM&BB. What criteria are applied
when selecting an SME? "First and foremost, they
must be experts in their field. They should also
have the ability to impart knowledge and enjoy
sharing their experience with other colleagues," explains Angela Weiss.
Enjoying the exchange of ideas
Prior to her deployment, the SME receives a detailed briefing from the seminar leader.
Together, they discuss messages, methodology and learning objectives. Maria Jose
Jorda has put her presentation together and gone through it again with Angela Weiss.
Showing the seminar participants the charts, she points out the areas of the ARTE project
that are important, and answers questions: What kind of problems did she have to
confront in the course of the project? How did she solve them? How did she handle
management expectations?
Maria Jose Jorda introduces the
ARTE project to seminar
participants.
"I enjoy exchanging ideas and experience with
other colleagues very much. It enables me to
obtain an outside viewpoint on my work and thus
gives me new ideas," explains Maria Jose Jorda.
For her, being an SME is personally enriching; "It
is a very good experience; it gives me an
opportunity to develop and grow. After each
seminar, I get feedback from the instructors and
participants. I can then work on the strengths and
weaknesses of my presentation."
Feedback is an important part of the SME
program. In a debriefing session, instructors and
SMEs evaluate the presentation together – the
ultimate goal is the constant improvement of
training contributions. To this end, there are
several training sessions in which SMEs can
perfect their teaching skills such as workshops on presentation skills and training courses
on how to impart content and knowledge.
Planning ahead
Maria Jose Jorda uses some of her working time to prepare for her assignments as an
SME – preparation, presentation and follow-up take a few hours to do. "I already know
several months in advance about my next assignment. This allows me to allocate time to
it, and plan ahead," she says. Her line manager is very supportive of her additional
commitment – after all, it advertises the team's work. There will soon be a second SME in
this unit: With Maria Jose Jorda's positive experience, a colleague of hers has decided
that he also wants to get involved in education and training.
Alexander Kohler, Employee Communications,
Global Wealth Management & Business Banking
Instructor Angela Weiss teams up
with SME at her seminars.
More information
Would you like to find out more about the SME concept, or would you be interested in
working as an SME? More information is available on the HR&E Education Offering
Switzerland homepage or through Michel Gauch, HR&E SME Management.
Seite 2 von 3Subject Matter Experts: sharing specialized knowledge with colleagues
20.03.2008http://bw.ubs.com/page/print/1,1209,834-284434-1-0,00.shtml

3. © 2008 UBS AG intranet | All rights reserved | For internal use only | Subscribe to this page and receive an alert when the page is updated
Send feedback if there is a problem with this page. Last update: 07-Mar-2008 | Published by: Alexander Kohler | Site qualifier:
http://bw.ubs.com/globalwmbb Page URL: http://bw.ubs.com/page?id=284434
Close
Seite 3 von 3Subject Matter Experts: sharing specialized knowledge with colleagues
20.03.2008http://bw.ubs.com/page/print/1,1209,834-284434-1-0,00.shtml