Lornefield Pensions Administration / BG-Demo – Check In
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Lornefield Pensions Administration · 28 Dec 2023 13:45
Imogen Hartley says she is not unhappy, but active users are down about a fifth and she expects the director to ask what the renewal buys. Daniel Okafor agreed to build a value summary by the second week of January.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Imogen Hartley says she is not unhappy, but active users are down about a fifth and she expects the director to ask what the renewal buys. Daniel Okafor agreed to build a value summary by the second week of January.
What happened: Daniel Okafor and Imogen Hartley reviewed usage on 28 Dec 2023. Active users averaged three and a half, down about a fifth on the previous quarter, and Imogen put most of it down to leave and fewer trustee meetings.
Customer view: She calls the service dependable and says the shortfall is in giving people reason to use it. The planned walkthrough did not happen, so several managers have had no introduction.
Commercial: The renewal date is 3 Apr 2024 at £20k, and Imogen expects the director to ask what that buys. She asked for an honest value summary that includes the dip, which Nell is to see before the commercial conversation.
Watch: The dip is explained but not proven seasonal. Imogen said she was saying it with fingers a little crossed, and the January numbers will test it.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Usage dip, renewal value case
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
champion
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Daniel Okafor to send the value summary, including the dip, by the second week of January.
- Imogen Hartley to send names for the walkthrough session once she knows who is back.
- Daniel Okafor to send Imogen the usage view from the call and brief Nell before the commercial conversation.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Active users are down about a fifth on the previous quarter, which weakens the case for the Starter renewal at £19,500.
- Several managers have never had the planned walkthrough, so the dip may not simply recover in January.
- The director will ask what the renewal buys before anyone has a value summary to show.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A sponsor-led walkthrough in the first fortnight back could lift adoption within the fifteen licences already held.
- An honest value summary built on questions asked and who asked them gives Imogen a case to take to the director.
Transcript
Imogen HartleyHello Daniel. Am I first in?
Daniel OkaforYou are, and I'm only a minute behind. Good afternoon, Imogen. Thank you for doing this, I wasn't sure anyone would be at their desk between the holidays.- Imogen HartleyHa. I'm at my desk, but I'm one of about three. The building is very quiet. I quite like it, actually. I can hear myself think.
- Daniel OkaforI know that feeling. Did you manage a proper break, or is it all a bit of a blur?
- Imogen HartleyA blur, with some turkey in the middle. We went to my sister's, it was lovely, I came back and promptly lost track of what day it was. It's Thursday, apparently.
- Daniel OkaforIt is, I checked twice. Well, just to close the loop on where we are, this is the end of year check-in, and I'd like to keep it light. How is the team finding it, and is there anything you'd like to raise?
- Imogen HartleyLet me set the scene first, because the picture is a bit different from last time. The real question for me, at the moment, is whether what we're seeing is the season or something more than the season.
- Daniel OkaforGo on.
- Imogen HartleyWell, I looked at the usage page yesterday, and it's down. Not dramatically. But after the improvement in the autumn I'd have liked it to hold up, and it hasn't quite.
- Daniel OkaforI've got the same view in front of me. Let me share it so we're looking at the same thing.
- Daniel OkaforSo, the active users over the last thirty days are averaging three and a half or so. Against the previous quarter that's down by about a fifth. I'd not want to dress that up.
- Imogen HartleyNo, and thank you for not dressing it up. That's more or less the number I had in my head.
- Daniel OkaforMay I ask what your instinct is? You know the team better than a dashboard does.
- Imogen HartleyMy instinct is that it's mostly the time of year. Several of the relationship managers have been off for much of December, and trustee meetings thin out. People aren't preparing for them. I'd expect it to climb again in January. But I'm saying that with fingers a little crossed.
- Daniel OkaforThat's honest, and I think it's probably right. We saw a similar dip around this time with a couple of other customers, though I wouldn't lean too hard on that, every team is different.
- Imogen HartleyMm. The other thing, and I should say this plainly, is that the walkthrough session we talked about in the autumn didn't quite happen the way we planned. Everyone was in different places. So a few of the managers still haven't had that introduction.
- Daniel OkaforYes, and that's partly on me too. I'd offered times and then the diary got difficult for everybody. I don't think either of us should carry that. But it does feel like the obvious next thing.
- Imogen HartleyI agree. I've seen this work when there's a sponsor in the room, someone who says out loud, this is how we do it now. I'd like to be that, and I'd like it to be in the first fortnight back, before everyone's calendars fill up again.
- Daniel OkaforI'd be glad to do that. Would you want it to be the same group as before, or has anything shifted?
- Imogen HartleySame group, plus possibly one more. Let me see who's back and who isn't. I don't want to say a number I can't stand behind.
- Daniel OkaforOf course. You've got fifteen licences and there's plenty of room in them, so nobody needs to be left out.
- Imogen HartleyWhich brings me to the other thing on my mind. The renewal.
- Daniel OkaforPlease, say what you're thinking.
- Imogen HartleyIt's early April, isn't it. The third, I think I've written down.
- Daniel OkaforIt is. The renewal date is 3 Apr 2024, and the current term ends the day before.
- Imogen HartleyRight. Now, I'm not unhappy, I want to be clear. But when I put the renewal in front of the director, the first thing I'll be asked is what we've got for nineteen and a half thousand pounds. And a usage chart that's gone down a fifth isn't the story I'd like to open with.
- Daniel OkaforThat's completely reasonable, and I'm glad you've said it now rather than in March. Let me tell you what I'd suggest, and you tell me whether it helps.
- Imogen HartleyGo on.
- Daniel OkaforI'll pull together a short value summary. Not just users, but the questions that have been asked over the year, who's been asking them, and the kinds of things they've been answering, trustee calls, member queries, fees. Something you can put in front of the director without needing me in the room.
- Imogen HartleyThat would be very welcome. And I'd want it to include the honest bit, the dip, so nobody feels I've hidden it.
- Daniel OkaforI think it's stronger with it in. We can say what we think is behind it and what we're doing.
- Imogen HartleyYes. Yes, let's do that.
- Daniel OkaforI'll aim to have a first version with you in the second week of January, once we can see how this month has settled. I'll come back to you by then, and if the picture's changed I'll tell you.
- Imogen HartleyGood. Thank you. And Nell will want to talk about the commercial side at some point, I assume?
- Daniel OkaforShe will, nearer the time. I'll make sure she's seen the summary first, so the conversation starts from the same place as ours.
- Imogen HartleyThat's what I'd hoped. I don't love surprises, and I'd hate Nell to be working from a different picture.
- Daniel OkaforUnderstood. Can I ask a different kind of question? Has anything changed in how the team works that I should know about? A system change, a new process, someone moving on?
- Imogen HartleyNothing like that. One of the managers has been pulled onto a project for a while, which probably accounts for a little of the dip. But no one's leaving, and the systems are as they were.
- Daniel OkaforGood, that's useful to know. And on our side, there are no tickets from you, no incidents. I'd normally take that as a good sign, but given the quarter I wanted to ask directly in case it's silence for another reason.
- Imogen HartleyNo, it's a good sign. It's been dependable. I'd have said so. If there's a complaint it's that I haven't given people enough reason to use it, not that it hasn't been there.
- Daniel OkaforWell, that's a fair way to look at it, and it's something we can fix together.
- Imogen HartleyMm. Let's make it count in January, then.
- Daniel OkaforAgreed. Let me close the loop so we both know. You'll check who's back and send me names for the session. I'll send times and put together the value summary by the second week of January. Anything missing?
- Imogen HartleyI think that's it. Oh, one thing. Could you send me the usage view from today, so I'm quoting the right figures when I speak to the director?
- Daniel OkaforOf course, I'll send it after the call with a couple of lines of context.
- Imogen HartleyThank you. Right, I'd better go and pretend to be productive. Happy new year, Daniel, if I don't speak before.
- Daniel OkaforHappy new year to you, Imogen. Best wishes, Daniel.
- Imogen HartleyBest, Imogen. Bye.
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