Work context: Ask your SME about contextual factors that currently affect his/her/their level of performance. Find out which aspects of the situation hinder or enhance the employee’s ability to complete work, such as lack of immediate supervision, dysfunctional equipment, or bureaucratic rules/procedures. (See O*NET for additional examples, but you do not need to write these up in the same way). Then ask your SME about why the organization has not resolved problematic issues, from his/her perspective?
Selection: What is your SME’s opinion about the process used to select and hire people for his/her/their job? Do most employees in the SME’s position have adequate KSAOs? If not, what does your SME suspect is the reason? You might also ask about the effectiveness of recruiting efforts, in addition to the selection process itself.
Training (formal): Was your SME given an orientation and initial job training? What kinds of training are provided or are available to the SME on a regular basis? (You only need to learn about training resources provided for employees within that job; don’t worry about training provided to people who are promoted to a new job.)
