I've been in too many change programmes where communications feels like shouting into the void. Beautiful newsletters, polished videos, carefully crafted emails—all sent out into the organisation with the hope that somehow, the right information will reach the right people at the right time.
Spoiler alert: it rarely does.
Then someone asks a perfectly reasonable question in week six of the programme, and you realise they've completely missed three crucial pieces of information that were "clearly communicated" in previous updates. Or worse, they got the information but couldn't make sense of how it applied to their specific situation.
That's when I learned the hard truth about change communications: broadcasting information isn't the same as creating understanding.
What the theory tells us about information flow
Change management theory has been trying to tell us this for years. Kotter emphasises the need for communication that's not just frequent, but also accessible and relevant to people's daily experience. His research shows that transformation efforts fail when people can't connect the dots between the big picture and their own role.
The ADKAR model is even more specific about this. It breaks down the knowledge component into knowing what to change, how to change, and why change is needed. But here's the thing—people don't need all of that information at once, and they certainly don't need it in the same format or at the same time.
Nudge theory adds another layer to this. It shows us that the way information is presented and accessed dramatically affects whether people actually use it.
Small changes in how we make information available can have huge impacts on behaviour.
Yet most change communications still follows the old broadcast model: we decide what people need to know, package it up, and send it out. Job done, right?
The reality of how people actually consume information
Here's what I've learned from watching people navigate change: they don't consume information linearly. They don't read everything in order. They don't remember details from that email three weeks ago when they suddenly need them on a Thursday afternoon.
What they do is search. They ask colleagues. They try to piece together fragments of information to answer the specific question they have right now. And when they can't find what they need quickly, they either make it up or give up.
I remember working with a team going through a major system change. Despite months of communications, people were still unclear about basic processes. When we dug deeper, we found that the information existed—it was just scattered across dozens of emails, buried in slide decks, or sitting in documents people couldn't find.
The breakthrough came when we created a simple knowledge hub where people could actually search for answers to their specific questions. Suddenly, the same information that had been ignored in emails became genuinely useful.
What makes knowledge hubs different
A proper knowledge hub isn't just a document repository. It's a living, searchable resource that's designed around how people actually look for information when they're trying to get things done.
The best ones I've seen have a few things in common:
- Information is organised around people's questions, not organisational structure
- Content is written in plain language that actually makes sense
- There's a search function that works the way people naturally think about problems
- Popular questions are easy to find without searching
- It's updated regularly and clearly shows what's new or changed
But the real magic happens when you treat it as a conversation starter, not a conversation ender. When people can find most of what they need but also know where to go for the things that require human input.
The ripple effect of getting this right
When people can actually find the information they need, something interesting happens. The quality of questions gets better. Instead of asking "What's changing?" they ask "How do I handle this specific situation differently?"
Managers stop feeling like human search engines, constantly answering the same basic questions. They can focus on helping people work through the trickier aspects of change—the stuff that requires judgement and context.
And here's the bit that surprised me: people actually start engaging more with the change itself. When information is accessible and useful, they're more likely to take ownership of understanding their role in making it happen.
Beyond FAQs: making knowledge work
The temptation is to create a fancy FAQ section and call it done. But the knowledge hubs that really work go deeper than that. They anticipate the questions people don't even know they should be asking. They provide context, not just facts. They show examples of what good looks like, not just what the policy says.
I've seen teams create video walkthroughs for complex processes, decision trees for common scenarios, and even simple flowcharts that help people figure out which bit of information applies to their situation.
The key is thinking like the person who needs the information, not the person who has it.
The human side of information architecture
This isn't just about technology or information design. It's about understanding that in times of change, people's relationship with information gets complicated. They're often dealing with uncertainty, cognitive overload, and competing priorities.
A good knowledge hub recognises this. It doesn't just store information—it makes information genuinely useful for people who are trying to navigate unfamiliar territory while still getting their day job done.
The reality check
You can have the most compelling change story in the world, but if people can't find the practical information they need to act on it, you're stuck.
Change communications isn't just about inspiring people or keeping them informed. It's about enabling them to actually do something different. And that requires information that's not just available, but accessible, relevant, and useful in the moment they need it.
If your change programme has great messages but people are still confused about the basics, it might be time to look at how information actually flows in your organisation. Are you broadcasting, or are you building understanding?
Something quietly powerful shifts.
People stop feeling wrong for not remembering an email from three weeks ago. They stop second-guessing themselves. They stop interrupting their day, or their manager’s, to ask questions they suspect they should already know the answer to.
Instead, they get on with the job.
When information is easy to find and easy to understand, confidence goes up. Not the loud, chest-beating kind. The practical kind. The kind that shows up as fewer workarounds, better decisions, and calmer conversations.
You see it in small moments first. A new starter who finds the right process without asking. A manager who uses a shared decision guide rather than inventing a local rule. A team that spends its meeting time solving problems instead of clarifying basics. None of this makes headlines, but it is exactly what progress looks like.
From an organisational point of view, the benefits compound. Support tickets drop. Inbox traffic slows. Subject-matter experts get their time back. Change teams stop playing whack-a-mole with the same questions dressed up in slightly different words.
More importantly, trust improves. When people can reliably find accurate, up-to-date answers, they start to believe the organisation has thought this through. That it respects their time. That it understands how work actually happens.
And that is where engagement really comes from. Not from another beautifully designed broadcast, but from the quiet reassurance that when you need to know something, the answer is there, it makes sense, and it helps you act.
At alterNOTION, this is why we put as much effort into information architecture as we do into change narratives. Because the story might spark intent, but it is accessible knowledge that turns intent into action.
If you want people to change how they work, start by making it easier for them to find out how.
