Lornefield Pensions Administration / BG-Demo – QBR
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Lornefield Pensions Administration · 3 Feb 2025 11:15
On the 3 Feb 2025 QBR, Douglas Baird, the Chief Operating Officer, said he is more comfortable but will confirm the renewal only once a pilot with two managers has shown something. Use is real but narrow against forty licensed seats.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026On the 3 Feb 2025 QBR, Douglas Baird, the Chief Operating Officer, said he is more comfortable but will confirm the renewal only once a pilot with two managers has shown something. Use is real but narrow against forty licensed seats.
What happened: Daniel Okafor reviewed usage, one resolved high priority ticket and connectors with Imogen Hartley and Douglas. Between eleven and twelve people are active on a typical day against forty licensed users.
Customer view: Imogen wants proof that relationship managers see trustee calls, member queries and fee invoices in one place. Douglas admitted he has not been asking the brain himself.
Commercial: The Growth order form is £44k a year, the contract runs to 2 Apr 2025 and the renewal date is 3 Apr 2025. Douglas will confirm only once the pilot with the managers has shown something.
Watch: The seats are used by a narrow group, so the renewal rests on the pilot. Daniel owes a per-manager view and the renewal order form.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Narrow use before renewal
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Daniel Okafor to show Imogen the per-manager view by the end of next week.
- Daniel Okafor to send the renewal order form to Douglas and Morag before the end of February.
- Imogen Hartley to run the two-manager pilot and feed results back to Douglas.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Only a small group uses the brain against forty licensed seats, which is hard to defend at renewal.
- Douglas has not committed to renewing and will decide only after the manager pilot.
- Senior sponsorship is missing: Douglas has not been in the habit of asking the brain himself.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A per-manager view of schemes, trustee calls and open member queries could build the habit among relationship managers.
- Douglas trying one question before the next trustee pack gives him first-hand evidence of value.
Transcript
Daniel OkaforGood morning, everyone. Thank you all for your time. Let me just check who's joined. Imogen, Douglas, and Nell is with me. Is anyone still to come?
Imogen HartleyGood morning, Daniel. I think that's us. Douglas was a minute behind me, I saw him in the lobby.
Douglas BairdHere, here. Apologies, my previous meeting ran over. Good morning to you all. Thank you for arranging this, Daniel.
Nell AshcombeMorning. Quick one before Daniel starts: what does each of you want to leave with from the next hour? Then we'll make sure we cover it.- Imogen HartleyI'll go first, if I may, and set the context, since the real question is what this thing is for. We bought the brain so that scheme relationship managers could see trustee calls, member queries and fee invoices in one place before a meeting. So what I'd like to leave with is a straight answer on whether that's happening.
- Douglas BairdWell put. I would add only that I'd like a view of the renewal in April, and what the evidence says, so that I can speak to the group with confidence.
- Daniel OkaforThat's very clear, thank you both. Let me share my screen. Can you see it alright? Good. So I'll go through usage first, then what people are asking, then the one ticket we had, and then we'll come to April.
- Daniel OkaforOn usage, you have forty licensed users. In the last month the average on a typical day has been somewhere between eleven and twelve people. Against last quarter that's only slightly down, a few percent, so it's broadly steady rather than falling.
- Imogen HartleySteady is better than I feared. When we spoke in January there was a sense it had slipped further.
- Daniel OkaforIt had been lower, yes, and it's come back a bit in the weeks since. I wouldn't claim more than that. It's a small number of people who are using it a lot.
- Nell AshcombeSay what happened, say how you know. Who are the heavy users, Daniel? Is it a couple of names?
- Daniel OkaforMostly it's your data team and a handful of the relationship managers. The questions they ask are about trustee call summaries and open member queries by scheme. So the use is real and it's the use you described, Imogen. It's just narrower than forty seats.
- Imogen HartleyThat's honest, and I appreciate it. I've seen this work when a few people carry it and then the rest follow, as long as someone senior shows up and asks the brain in the room. Otherwise it drifts.
- Douglas BairdIn fairness, I think that's what has been missing on our side. I have not been in the habit of asking it myself, and I take that point to heart.
- Nell AshcombeDouglas, would you try something? Before the next trustee pack, ask it for the open queries by scheme. Just one. Then tell us whether it was worth the two minutes.
- Douglas BairdI'd be glad to. I'd welcome the chance, and I'll ask one of the team to show me the first time.
- Imogen HartleyI'll sit with you, Douglas. Let's make it count.
- Daniel OkaforThat would be lovely. Right, the ticket. We had one in the last month and it was marked high priority. We dealt with it, and nothing is open now. Just to close the loop, I'll make sure the note on it goes into the QBR summary so you have it in writing.
- Imogen HartleyI remember it. It was resolved quickly and I didn't have to chase, which is the point. Thank you.
- Douglas BairdQuite so. I'd have heard about it if it hadn't been.
- Daniel OkaforGood. Then to the connectors and what's being indexed. Everything you set up at the start is still loading. Nothing has stalled, so the brain is current, and records are still coming in nightly. The thing I'd like to talk about is not whether it's working but who's using it.
- Nell AshcombeWhich is the harder problem, and the more useful one. Imogen, what would help your relationship managers adopt it? Not in general. What would actually get them to open it on a Monday?
- Imogen HartleyA fair question. I think two things. One, if the trustee call summary was the first thing they saw for their schemes, they'd use it before a meeting without being asked. Two, if their own manager asked them for it. It's a habit, not a feature gap.
- Daniel OkaforI can help with the first. We could set up a view per relationship manager, with their schemes, the latest trustee calls and open member queries on one page. I'd work on it with you and I'll come back to you by the end of next week with what it looks like.
- Imogen HartleyPlease. And I'd nominate a couple of managers to try it first, so we aren't asking forty people to change at once.
- Nell AshcombeThat's the right size. Two managers, one view, two weeks. Then we look at what they asked it.
- Douglas BairdThat seems a measured way to go about it, and I'm content with it. I don't like to hurry people.
- Daniel OkaforNow, April. The contract runs to 2 Apr 2025 and the renewal date is 3 Apr 2025. The order form figure is £44,000 a year on the Growth subscription, and what's been invoiced matches that. Douglas, I'd like to ask where you are on it.
- Douglas BairdThank you, Daniel. I spoke with Morag in the last fortnight, and we've had the earlier conversation about it. My honest position is that I'm more comfortable than I was in January, because I can see a use that's real. I'm not yet in a position to say more, and the group's position is that we confirm once the pilot with the managers has shown something.
- Nell AshcombeThat's fair, and we won't push you for an answer. We'd rather you renew because it's earning its place. Daniel will make sure the paperwork is ready so you aren't waiting on us.
- Daniel OkaforYes. I'll send the renewal order form to you and Morag before the end of February, with the period written out, so it's there when you need it and nobody is rushed.
- Imogen HartleyAnd I'll feed back the pilot results to you, Douglas, in good time. If it's good I'd like to be able to say so plainly.
- Douglas BairdI'd value that, Imogen.
- Daniel OkaforIs there anything else anyone wants to raise? Anything I've not covered?
- Imogen HartleyOnly that thank you for being direct about the narrow use. Some suppliers would have dressed it up.
- Nell AshcombeWe'd rather you heard it from us. Thank you both. I'll leave Daniel to send the summary.
- Daniel OkaforI'll send the summary today or tomorrow, with the actions and who owns each one. Thank you all for your time, and speak soon.
- Douglas BairdThank you, Daniel, Nell. Good morning to you.
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