Organisational research

Understanding before decisions.

Merian is an organisational research practice based in India.
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When might Merian be useful?

01

A people-related problem keeps returning despite previous attempts to address it.

The same issue may resurface even after action has been taken. A new process or communication change may appear to help for a while, but the problem returns. First looking at the evidence can help test whether the first explanation captured what was actually driving it.

02

Attrition or disengagement is increasing, or morale is weakening.

Something may have shifted in how people are experiencing work, even if the reason is not immediately clear. Employee experiences can help show whether the concern is widely shared or concentrated within particular parts of the organisation.

03

A team or department is not performing as expected.

Performance may fall short even when the people involved appear capable and the problem is not obvious. Looking more closely at how work is organised and experienced can help identify what may be getting in the way.

04

There are concerns around trust, communication or role clarity.

People may receive conflicting information or be unsure who owns a decision. In other cases, concerns may stop being raised because people do not expect them to go anywhere.

05

Different groups within the organisation understand the same situation differently.

Leaders may believe a change is working while employees experience it quite differently. Two departments may also describe the same situation in very different ways. Comparing those perspectives can help show where the differences come from and what context may explain them.

06

A change or initiative has not produced the expected result.

A new policy or way of working may have been introduced, but the outcome does not match what was expected. The issue may lie in the change itself or in the context in which it was introduced. So seeing how it was experienced can help distinguish between the two.

07

The organisation wants to understand something before deciding what to do next.

There does not need to be a visible problem. An organisation may simply want to understand how employees are experiencing work, or examine whether an existing policy is working as intended before deciding whether anything needs to change.

Understanding

Numbers and narratives

Numbers and narratives can each reveal different parts of the same organisational question.

Anonymous surveys

Numbers

Anonymous surveys help show how experiences are distributed across a group and where patterns begin to emerge.

Semi-structured interviews

Narratives

Semi-structured interviews help understand how people experience what is happening and give context to patterns that may otherwise be difficult to interpret.

Merian uses both by default and interprets them together. In some engagements, one method may be used on its own when specifically requested and still appropriate for the question.

Approach

Better decisions begin with better organisational understanding.

Not every organisational problem needs another external solution. Sometimes, understanding what may be shaping it gives an organisation what it needs to respond internally.

Merian looks at evidence together and in context, instead of treating each finding as a separate issue.

Visible problem

Act on the first explanation

  1. First explanation
  2. Action based on that explanation
  3. The problem may persist or return

Investigate before deciding

  1. Evidence
  2. Patterns and context
  3. Interpretation
  4. Better-informed decision

Informed by evidence-based decision-making principles (Rousseau, 2020; HakemZadeh & Rousseau, 2024).

The engagement process

Stage 01

Enquire

A short enquiry form and a free first conversation help establish whether Merian may be relevant.

After the engagement

The engagement may close, or the same question may be revisited later through a re-inquiry. A different question begins as a new engagement.

Decisions and implementation

Merian interprets the evidence and sets out decision options. The organisation decides what to do next and remains responsible for implementation.

When another kind of support is needed

If a need falls outside Merian's competence, this will be said clearly. Where appropriate, another professional may be suggested and Merian does not take a referral fee.

New inquiry

If a different question emerges, it is treated as a new inquiry rather than being added to the completed engagement.

About

Merian is an organisational research practice based in India.

Vision

Organisations understanding their problems before deciding how to address them.

Mission

To conduct independent research that helps organisations question initial explanations and make decisions informed by evidence.

The thinking behind Merian

A meridian is a reference line: a way of locating and understanding where something stands. Merian reflects the same principle in organisational work. Different perspectives and forms of evidence are brought into relation so that recurring patterns can be understood as part of a wider system. The identity remains deliberately open, recognising that organisational understanding can become clearer without pretending that every question has one complete or final answer.

Who you'll work with

Portrait of Aayushee Patil

Aayushee Patil

Organisational Researcher & Founder, Merian

MSc Organisational Psychiatry and Psychology, King's College London

I bring quantitative and qualitative evidence together and build interpretations that can be traced back to the evidence behind them. The aim is to make what is happening easier to understand before a decision is made.

I carry each engagement from the first conversation through the final report and findings discussion. I also aim to give employees an independent and confidential way to share their experiences.

Contact Aayushee

aayushee@merian.inLinkedIn

Working with Aayushee

Reflections from people who have worked closely with Aayushee in research and professional settings.

  • Aayushee is highly observant and thoughtful in the way she approaches people and situations. She brings a conscientious and professional approach to her work.

    Mr. Merul GandhiCo-founder/Partner Psychologia: Forum for Mental Wellbeing

  • Throughout the process, Aayushee demonstrated commitment, independence and openness to feedback. I particularly appreciated her ability to engage critically with the data and develop meaningful themes from the findings.

    Dr. Vincenzo PirruccioDissertation Supervisor, King's College London

Services

Organisational Research

A tailored enquiry into the people and organisational factors relevant to the question being explored.

Optional

Question Framing

Clarifies the question and whether further inquiry is required.

Focused Inquiry

Explores one question within a small team or department.

Organisational Inquiry

Explores a broader question across multiple teams or departments.

Question Framing: If a Focused or Organisational Inquiry begins within three months, the Question Framing fee is credited in full against that engagement.

Illustrative case

This is an example created to show what a Merian engagement may look like in practice.

I chose the printing industry because I wanted a setting that would not distract from the organisational question.

Everything in this case is fictional.

View illustrative report

This public version is simplified.

In a real engagement, the work would be adapted to the question and would include more complete engagement-specific documentation. It would include collection dates, complete instruments where appropriate, a fuller codebook and theme record, confidentiality procedures and a detailed methodological appendix.

What is happening in your organisation?

You do not need to identify the cause or choose a service. Tell us what you have noticed and tried, or what keeps happening.

Start a conversation

From Merian

Articles exploring the evidence and questions that shape how organisations understand their people.

See all articles

Tell us what you're seeing.

The first conversation is free and helps establish whether Merian may be relevant to what is happening. You do not need to know the cause or choose a service before getting in touch.

Book a free conversation

A 30-minute conversation to understand what is happening and whether Merian may be relevant.

Appointments can be booked at least 24 hours in advance.

Book a conversation

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