Calderbrook Housing Group / BG-Demo – QBR
Callcompleted
Calderbrook Housing Group · 28 Jul 2025 10:30
Healthy Growth account with no recent tickets, but only about ten of forty users active. A group-level review of building reporting in-house means Helen Marsden cannot commit to the Sep 2025 renewal.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Healthy Growth account with no recent tickets, but only about ten of forty users active. A group-level review of building reporting in-house means Helen Marsden cannot commit to the Sep 2025 renewal.
What happened: A board-pack figure differed on Friday because jobs closed after the refresh. It matched on the Monday, and Paul Rigby will add an as-at line to the dashboard tile.
Customer view: Helen said she has held back from widening use while group technology leadership and the finance director consider an in-house build. She is consulted, not deciding, and wants a fair comparison with sources.
Commercial: Growth, forty licensed users, forty-four thousand pounds a year, invoiced with nothing outstanding. The term runs to 1 Sep 2025 and renewal is 2 Sep 2025.
Watch: Helen cannot say yes or no on that date alone. Daniel Okafor will brief Tom Ashdown on timing and send a sourced note.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
In-house build threatens renewal
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 sends Helen a sourced note on what the brain does for the board pack by the end of next week.
- Daniel briefs Tom Ashdown on renewal timing before he makes contact.
- Daniel checks what is configured for tenant satisfaction and replies by the end of the week.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A group-level review of building reporting in-house could displace the brain at renewal.
- Helen Marsden cannot give a yes or no on the renewal date until the group work lands.
- Only about ten of forty licensed users are active, which weakens the value case.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Spare seats could serve the complaints team and neighbourhood managers if the account stays.
- Tenant satisfaction data is the next source Helen wants in the board pack.
Transcript
Daniel OkaforMorning, Helen. Morning, Paul. Can you both hear me all right?
Helen MarsdenMorning, Daniel. Yes, loud and clear. I think Paul's just finding his mute button.
Paul RigbyMorning. Sorry, headset's playing up. Can you hear me now?- Daniel OkaforPerfectly. Thank you both for making the time, I know the diary is a scrum at this point in the summer. Just checking who's joined: it's the three of us, is that right? Nobody else from the board reporting side?
- Helen MarsdenJust us three. My colleague who looks after the tenant survey figures is on leave until after the summer, so you've got the whole of the BI team, such as it is.
- Daniel OkaforWell, that's quality over quantity. How's the week been? It's a Monday, so I won't ask too much.
- Helen MarsdenBusy. Board papers go out soon, so everyone's chasing everyone. Which, actually, is where I'd like to start, if that's all right. There's one figure in the repairs section of the pack that doesn't reconcile with what the housing management system shows.
- Daniel OkaforOf course, let's start there. That's the right way round, honestly. What are you seeing?
- Helen MarsdenSection three, the repairs completed within target. The brain gave me one number on Friday afternoon and the housing system report gave a slightly different one on Friday evening. Not wildly different, but the board will ask, and I can't tell them it's roughly right.
- Daniel OkaforNo, understood. Paul, you're closest to the repairs data. Did you look at that one?
- Paul RigbyAye, I did. I'll share my screen. Give us a second. Right, can you see the repairs dashboard? This is the one I had open Friday. Here's the completed-in-target tile. And this is the same report off the housing system, run this morning.
- Daniel OkaforYes, I can see both. And this morning they match?
- Paul RigbyThey match this morning. Friday's one was out because some jobs were closed in the housing system after the brain had refreshed. Come Monday it had caught up. No double counting, job refs all there. I've got the list if Helen wants it.
- Helen MarsdenI do want it, Paul, please. Can you show me the source for the jobs that moved? I'd like it in the file behind that section of the pack.
- Paul RigbyWill do. I'll send it after this call.
- Daniel OkaforJust so I'm clear on the mechanics, because it's worth Helen having this in her pocket. The nightly refresh completes by 07:00 each business day. So anything closed in the housing system after that, or over a weekend, shows up in the brain at the next refresh. It's not wrong, it's a snapshot. But I do take the point that the board pack needs a number with a time on it.
- Helen MarsdenThat's the bit I'd like written down. If the pack says as at which morning, I'm comfortable. If it doesn't, someone on the board will compare it with the live system on the day and ask me why they differ.
- Daniel OkaforThat's fair. Could we add an as-at line to the dashboard tile itself, so it travels with the number into the pack? Paul, is that something you can do in the dashboards builder, or would you like me to sit with you?
- Paul RigbyI can do it. Ten minutes. I'll do it this week.
- Daniel OkaforLovely. Thank you. Right, that's the discrepancy dealt with, I hope, Helen. Just to close the loop, are you happy with that explanation or would you like me to go through it with whoever signs off the pack?
- Helen MarsdenI'm happy with the explanation, provided the as-at line goes in. I'll hold you to that, gently.
- Daniel OkaforHold me to it. Right. Shall I take you through the usage picture for the quarter, and then we can talk about what's ahead? I've put a few slides together, but I'm happy to talk over them. Is it all right if I share?
- Helen MarsdenPlease do.
- Daniel OkaforOkay, can you see that? So this is the account at a glance. You're on Growth, forty licensed users, and the contract is at forty-four thousand pounds a year. That's what's on the order form, and it's what's been invoiced. Nothing outstanding on the finance side, which I always like to say out loud.
- Helen MarsdenOur finance team would be mortified if there were.
- Daniel OkaforHa, quite. Now, activity. On average, about ten people are active in a given month. That's up a little on the previous quarter, which is nice to see, not dramatic. And the pattern is what I'd hoped for: your BI team, Paul's repairs colleagues, and a handful of people who look at the dashboards before the morning stand-up.
- Paul RigbyThat's about right. The repairs team use the dashboard every morning. Most of them don't log in to anything else.
- Daniel OkaforWhich is exactly what you want, isn't it? A tool somebody actually opens at the start of the day. How's the team finding it, Paul? Not the BI team, the people who stand around the screen.
- Paul RigbyThey like it. They don't say much, but when it was wrong they said a lot, so I take quiet as good. Haven't heard double-counted again for a good while now.
- Daniel OkaforI'll take that. And on that, the support side. I looked this morning and there's been nothing raised in the last month. No tickets at all, high priority or otherwise. Is that how it feels from your end, or have things been going somewhere I can't see?
- Paul RigbyNo, it's been quiet. I've got my spreadsheet of every ticket we've raised and the last entry is well back. Nothing to add. If something's wrong I raise it.
- Helen MarsdenHe does. He's relentless. It's one of the reasons I trust the numbers.
- Paul RigbyAye, well.
- Daniel OkaforSo from where I sit, the account is healthy and stable. Which brings me to the thing I wanted to put to you honestly, Helen. Forty seats, about ten people using them. There's headroom there. Is that deliberate, or is it that nobody's had the chance to widen it?
- Helen MarsdenHmm. That's a fair question, and I'd rather give you a straight answer. A bit of both. When we brought it in, the plan was the BI team, repairs, and then perhaps the complaints team and neighbourhood managers. We did the first two. The rest, I haven't pushed.
- Daniel OkaforAnd is there a reason you've held back? I'm asking because I'd rather know than guess.
- Helen MarsdenThere is, and I'll be straight about it. There's a piece of work going on at group level looking at whether reporting like this should be built on our own platform, in-house. It isn't my plan, Daniel. I want to be clear about that. I've said what I think, which is that what reconciles today is what we should keep. But I'm not the one making that call, and until it's settled I haven't wanted to bring more teams in.
- Daniel OkaforThank you for telling me. Really. I'd far rather hear it from you than somewhere else. Can I ask who's leading that work, or is that not something you can share?
- Helen MarsdenIt's sitting with our technology leadership and the finance director. I'm consulted, rather than deciding. I think they'd like to see a comparison, and I'd like it to be a fair one.
- Daniel OkaforThat seems right to me. I'd want it to be fair as well. So, what would be useful? I don't want to lobby anyone. But if they're comparing, it would help to put the facts in one place: what the brain does for your board pack, where each figure comes from, what's connected, and what it's cost. Would a short note like that be useful to you?
- Helen MarsdenIt would. With sources, please. Every claim with the system it came from. If it can't show me the source, I can't put it in front of them.
- Daniel OkaforUnderstood. Every figure with its source, and I'll be plain about what it doesn't do as well. I'll come back to you with a draft by the end of next week.
- Helen MarsdenThank you. That's helpful.
- Paul RigbyCan I say something? Not on the comparison. On the day to day.
- Daniel OkaforPlease, Paul.
- Paul RigbyIf we did go in-house, someone's got to rebuild what I've got. The repairs dashboards, the way the jobs are de-duplicated after the housing system upgrade. That took us months to get right with you. I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm saying somebody should put a number on the time.
- Helen MarsdenThat's a fair point, and I'll make it. Thank you, Paul. It's the kind of thing the board will ask.
- Daniel OkaforIt would help if you made it, and if the note includes it from our side too. I won't speculate on what the in-house route would take, because I don't know your platform. But I can show what's been configured and how it behaves.
- Helen MarsdenGood. Now, on the contract. I know it's coming up and I'd rather not be surprised. What's the date again?
- Daniel OkaforThe current term runs to 1 Sep 2025, and the renewal date is 2 Sep 2025. We began on 2 Sep 2024, so it'll be a year. Tom Ashdown, who looks after the commercial side for you, will be in touch about it, and I'll make sure he has everything from this conversation before he does, so you're not repeating yourself.
- Helen MarsdenThank you. I'd rather you told him than me. And to be open, I won't be able to say yes or no on that date alone. It depends on the group work.
- Daniel OkaforOf course. I'm not asking for a decision today, Helen. I just want us to be early rather than late. If it helps, I can walk Tom through the timing so that nobody's pushing you before the work has landed.
- Helen MarsdenThat would help. Honestly, the worst thing would be a surprise either way.
- Daniel OkaforAgreed. Right, anything on the product side you'd like from us in the meantime? I know you've mentioned the as-at line. Anything else on the wish list?
- Paul RigbySame as before. Would like the repairs dashboard to load a bit quicker first thing, but that's a minor one. Might be my laptop.
- Daniel OkaforWorth a look. If it's still slow after you add the as-at line, tell me and I'll have someone check it from our side. I won't promise a cause until I've seen it.
- Paul RigbyFair enough.
- Helen MarsdenOne more from me. The tenant satisfaction data. It's the piece I'd most like in the pack next time. Is that still sitting where we left it?
- Daniel OkaforAs far as I know, yes. It's the survey source we scoped at the beginning, and it was always the next one after repairs and arrears. I don't want to say more than I know from memory, so let me check what's configured and come back to you by the end of the week.
- Helen MarsdenThank you. If it's there, I'd like to see it reconcile against the survey provider's report, not just look plausible.
- Daniel OkaforOf course. Same standard as the rest.
- Helen MarsdenGood.
- Daniel OkaforLet me recap, so we've all got it the same. Paul sends Helen the list of jobs that moved on Friday, with the refs, today. Paul adds the as-at line to the dashboard tile this week. I check what's configured for tenant satisfaction and come back to you by the end of the week. And I send Helen a short note on what the brain does for the board pack, with sources, by the end of next week. And I brief Tom on the renewal timing before he reaches out. Did I miss anything?
- Helen MarsdenNo, that's all of it. Can you also put in the note how the refresh timing works, in plain words? The board won't read a technical paragraph.
- Daniel OkaforYes, plain words. Done.
- Paul RigbyThat's me sorted.
- Daniel OkaforBefore we go, is there anything you'd like to put on the agenda for the next review? I don't want to leave it to the last minute.
- Helen MarsdenProbably where the group work has got to, whatever that is by then. And I'd like us to look at which teams could use the spare seats, if the answer turns out to be that we stay.
- Daniel OkaforI'll put both on it. And Helen, whichever way it goes, I'm grateful for how open you've been today. That makes a difference.
- Helen MarsdenIt's the only way I know how to do it. Thank you, Daniel.
- Paul RigbyRight, I'll go and do that tile before I forget. Cheers, both.
- Daniel OkaforThanks, Paul. Thank you both again for your time. I'll be in touch this week. Speak soon.
- Helen MarsdenSpeak soon. Goodbye.
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