Narrative Experience: A Smarter Way to Manage Risk During Change

eross435
Nov 4
2 min read

When change is underway, surface metrics don’t tell the full story. Disengagement, resistance, and innovation blockers often hide beneath the numbers — and that’s where risk lives.

Akumen’s Narrative Experience solution helps consultants uncover what’s really going on. It turns open-text feedback into clear, real-time insight, giving you a window into the lived experience of your workforce. So instead of flying blind, you can lead change with confidence.

Why businesses are changing — and why it matters

Today’s organisations are facing constant pressure to adapt. Whether it’s responding to economic uncertainty, integrating new technology, restructuring teams, or merging with other businesses, change is often unavoidable.

But change brings risk. When people feel confused, unheard, or unsafe, it can lead to disengagement, resistance, and reputational damage. That’s why understanding how change is experienced — not just how it’s planned — is essential.

Narrative Experience helps you see those risks early, so you can act quickly and support people through change with clarity and care.

Why narrative matters

Traditional tools focus on what people do. Narrative Experience focuses on what people feel and say. It uses advanced emotion analytics to understand tone, sentiment, and themes — not just keywords. That means you can:

Spot early warning signs before they escalate
Understand the ‘why’ behind resistance or morale dips
Track emotional shifts during change
Tailor interventions based on real human insight

Whether you’re supporting a restructure, merger, or cultural transformation, Narrative Experience helps you manage risk in a way that’s responsive, ethical, and evidence-based.

Built for complexity, trusted by leaders

Akumen’s platform is secure, scalable, and built for enterprise. It’s already used across NHS Wales and other major organisations to analyse thousands of comments daily — helping leaders make sense of what matters most to their people.

You can upload narrative data from existing or tailored surveys, interviews, or chats. The platform then delivers strategic dashboards and AI-assisted summaries, ready for C-suite decision-making. It also integrates with your existing BI tools via API.

Key use cases for change consultants

Mergers & Acquisitions: Culture due diligence and integration
Restructures & Leadership Change: Morale and resistance insights
Risk & Reputation Management: Early warning signals
Burnout & Wellbeing: Proactive safety and engagement metrics

People first insight

Akumen’s approach is qualitative-first. We believe the richest insights come from people’s own words — and our software is designed to listen. It’s GDPR compliant, certified to Cyber Essentials Plus and NHS Data Security standards, with UK data held in UK centres.