Behind “I’m fine” there is often something else.
Acumia is the conversation simulator where HR professionals and people managers learn to recognise signs of distress in colleagues, and to guide the conversation towards the right support. Before they have to do it with a real person.
In English and Italian. Nothing to install.
Marta Rinaldi Project coordinator. She asked to meet you.
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How have things been for you lately?
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looks down Fine, really… just a lot of work, like everyone.
Plays it down and compares herself to others.
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“A lot of work” can mean many things. What is it like for you, these days?
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Well… I can’t switch off in the evening. I answer emails until midnight, then I can’t sleep.
Lost sleep, no boundaries: a concrete signal.
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Thank you for telling me. How long has it been like this?
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Since March, I think. I didn’t think anyone had noticed.
She opens up: the open question built trust.
The phrases that close a conversation
Nobody chooses to say the wrong thing. It happens when the conversation is hard and you have never practised it. On Acumia you get it wrong somewhere safe, and you learn why.
| What comes instinctively | What opens the conversation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “Come on, it happens to everyone.” | “What is it like for you, right now?” | Normalising too soon makes the problem feel less legitimate, and the person stops talking. |
| “You’ll see, it will pass.” | “What’s weighing on you most these days?” | Automatic reassurance ends the topic. An open question invites them to go on. |
| “Let’s see how we get the numbers back.” | “Before the numbers, I’d like to know how you are.” | Starting from performance puts someone who is already struggling on the defensive. |
How a session works
You talk with a virtual employee played by AI. They need to work out whether they can trust you; you need to work out what they are going through and how to help.
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Read the context
Who your colleague is and why you are meeting. What they are going through, you don’t know: that is what you need to find out.
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Lead the conversation
Write the way you would really speak. Your colleague opens up with listening, respect and concrete solutions, and closes down in the face of pressure, judgement and clichés. They may also end the meeting themselves.
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Note the signals
If you like, write down the important signals you noticed. No diagnosis is asked of you.
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Read your report
A score from 0 to 100, six criteria, the signals you caught and the ones you missed, and the questions you could have asked.
You can practise as an HR professional or as a people manager. The context changes, so does how your colleague sees you and how you are evaluated: people speak more carefully in front of their own boss, for example.
A report that tells you what really happened
The score measures how you led the conversation and whether the person leaves respected and with a useful outcome.
- Six criteria from 1 to 5: empathy, active listening, open questions, non-judgement, trust and transparency, next steps.
- The important signals to recognise in the conversation, with the lines where they appeared.
- Alternative questions to try in your next session.
- A path that fits you: a short questionnaire spots your tendencies, such as reassuring too quickly, and Acumia offers you the cases that put them to the test.
74/100
Situation: prolonged work overload Meeting ended on a positive note
- Empathy
- 4/5
- Active listening
- 4/5
- Open questions
- 5/5
- Non-judgement
- 4/5
- Trust and transparency
- 3/5
- Next steps
- 2/5
- To improve
- You closed without agreeing on a concrete next step.
- Try asking
What would help you over the next two weeks?
Sixteen colleagues, each with their own story
Every virtual employee has a role, a past and their own way of communicating. Two people with the same difficulty never describe it the same way.
- Three difficulty levels
- From an open colleague with clear signals to a guarded one who offers plausible alternative explanations.
- The four-colour test
- Discover your communication style and practise with people who communicate in the opposite way.
Situations you may meet
- Prolonged work overload
- Work pressure and workload
- Worries and tension
- Loss of energy and motivation
- Bullying or conflict with their manager
- Grief or family difficulties
- Disengagement quiet quitting
- Self-doubt about their worth
For whoever sits on the other side of the table
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HR
For people who receive requests for help and need to tell, in a few minutes, whether there is more to it than a bad week.
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People managers
For people who see their team every day and are often the first to notice something is wrong, but don’t know where to start.
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Those who train managers
For anyone looking for a way to let people practise between courses, without an actor or a colleague playing the part.
What Acumia is not
We are talking about health and people, so we make the limits clear.
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It is not a clinical tool.
It trains you to notice signals and point people towards appropriate support, not to diagnose. The characters are fictional.
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It is not for assessing staff.
The four-colour test is a self-awareness tool, not a validated psychometric test: don’t use it for hiring or decisions about people.
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It does not share your conversations.
Sessions and reports are visible only to you. You can export or delete them at any time.
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It stays away from some topics.
Virtual employees never talk about self-harm or suicide.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a background in psychology?
No. Acumia trains the skills of people who are not clinicians: listening, asking open questions, not judging, and pointing the person towards the right support. It never asks you to diagnose anyone.
Who can see my conversations?
Only you. Sessions and reports belong to your account, and you can export or delete them whenever you like. A transcript reaches the Acumia team only if you choose to attach it to feedback.
Who exactly am I talking to?
A virtual employee played by an AI model, with their own story, character and communication style. You don’t know in advance what they are going through: you find out from the conversation.
How long is a session?
It’s up to you. You can ask for your evaluation after three exchanges, or keep going until your colleague ends the meeting, as they would in real life.
Which languages does it support?
English and Italian, for both the interface and the conversation.
Which topics are left out?
Acumia uses fictional characters for training. Virtual employees never talk about self-harm or suicide, and the platform does not replace mental health professionals.
How do I get access?
From the sign-in page, with email and password or with a Google or Microsoft account. During the beta, sign-up may be open by invitation only.