What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026QBR on 6 Aug 2026. Three or four people use the brain, steady on last quarter, and value is clear for those who do. Connectors are healthy, but a planned helpdesk move could break a source and permissions confuse some consultants.
What happened: Elena Novak ran the QBR with Deirdre Barry and Aisling Kiely on 6 Aug 2026. Usage is steady at three or four active people out of fifteen licensed users, the same few each time.
Customer view: Deirdre said the consultants ask about open roles, placements and payment, which is what the customer bought it for. Habit and unclear permissions hold the rest back.
Watch: Aisling said the helpdesk may move later in the year, and Elena warned the connector would likely need redoing and could leave data stale. Aisling set up access and is the one who knows the permissions.
Commercial: Tickets are closed with no complaints and the refresh shows no breaches. Deirdre said she never buys without Cian O'Leary, so the renewal still sits with him.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Who was there
BG-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Elena Novak sends the written answer on permissions and on the cost of any connector change.
- Elena Novak sends two training options in two groups, with a one-page guide, and the ticket history.
- Aisling Kiely tells Elena Novak when the helpdesk change has a date.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A planned helpdesk move would likely need the connector set up again and could leave the data stale if BG-Demo is not told.
- Only the same few people use the brain and two consultants are unsure what they may see.
- Aisling Kiely set up access and holds the permissions knowledge, which is a key-person dependency.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Two shorter training sessions and a one-page guide could bring more consultants onto the brain.
- A named consultant's account of avoiding a query on an already paid invoice gives a value case for the renewal talk with Cian O'Leary.
Transcript
- Deirdre BarryHi Elena. Quick one before we start, one of the consultants asked me why the placements page shows a client twice. Is that a thing?
- Elena NovakGood afternoon, Deirdre, and Aisling. Thank you for the question, I will note it and we will come back to it under the data quality point. Can you both hear me clearly?
- Aisling KielyYes, I can hear you. Sorry, I'm just coming off another call, one second while I find the window.
- Deirdre BarryTake your time, Aisling. Elena, the weather's gone cold on us here, would you believe, in August.
- Elena NovakIn Amsterdam it is the same, grey since the morning. I hope the sun comes back for you both. Shall we begin?
- Aisling KielyReady when you are.
- Elena NovakThank you. As I wrote in the agenda I emailed, today has four parts. One, how the brain has been used since the last review. Two, the connectors and the quality of the data. Three, the tickets you have raised. Four, what you would like from us in the coming months. I will send written actions afterwards, as always.
- Deirdre BarryGrand. That sounds right.
- Elena NovakStarting with usage. To confirm, you have fifteen licensed users on Starter. In the last month, the typical number of people active has been about three or four, and that is steady compared with the previous quarter. It is not a fall, but it is the same few people.
- Deirdre BarryYeah, that's about what I'd have said. It's me, Aisling, and a couple of the senior consultants. The rest look at it now and then.
- Aisling KielyI'd agree. I log in mostly when I'm checking the records or when someone has a problem. I wouldn't say I use it to ask questions very often.
- Elena NovakThat is helpful to hear. May I ask, then, what the consultants who do use it ask it? Which questions are the most common?
- Deirdre BarryMostly, what roles does this client have open, what did we place with them, have they paid. Which is exactly what we bought it for. One of them told me she doesn't ring a client now without looking first. She said it saved her from asking about an invoice that was already paid.
- Elena NovakThat is precisely the value we hoped for. I would like to quote that, with your permission, in my summary for the renewal discussion.
- Deirdre BarryOf course, go on. Cian will like that one. Better than me waving a chart at him.
- Elena NovakGood. The second point on usage is the other consultants. What do you think stops them from using it? I would like to understand, rather than guess.
- Deirdre BarryHonestly? Habit. They've got their own way of keeping notes and they don't trust a new thing. And I've not had the time to sit with them one by one. I know that's not a great answer.
- Aisling KielyThere's also the fact that two of them said they didn't know what they were allowed to see. Whether it's all clients or only their own. That's what Deirdre mentioned earlier.
- Elena NovakI will confirm the permissions in writing, so that you can pass it to them. Aisling, you set up the access originally, is that right?
- Aisling KielyYes, I did, with Deirdre. I think it's all of them can see all clients, but I'd have to check the groups before I say so. I wouldn't want to tell them wrong.
- Elena NovakThen we will check it together after this call. I will make sure that the answer is in the follow-up, and you can compare it with what you have.
- Deirdre BarryGrand, that'd save us hours.
- Elena NovakMoving to the connectors. Aisling, from the records I see the sources you connected at the start are still loading, and the number of records indexed has been moving up over the months. So nothing has stalled. Does that match what you see?
- Aisling KielyIt does. The CRM one and the accounting one are fine. The refresh runs overnight and by the time people are in, it's there. I've not seen anything stale lately.
- Elena NovakGood. To confirm, the refresh should complete before seven in the morning on business days, and I see no breaches. Please tell me at once if you ever see a morning when it has not.
- Aisling KielyWill do. One thing, though. We were thinking of moving the helpdesk to something different later in the year. I don't know when. Would the connector need redoing?
- Elena NovakThank you for raising it early. Yes, if the system changes, the connector would very likely need to be set up again, and that is exactly the kind of change that can leave the data stale if nobody tells us. I would ask you to let me know before it happens, so that we plan it together.
- Aisling KielyOkay, I'll flag it as soon as there's a date. It's not decided.
- Deirdre BarryQuick one on that. Would we need to pay for it? The redoing.
- Elena NovakI do not want to guess at this, Deirdre. It depends on what is changed. I will check and put the answer in writing. For now, there is no charge on the table.
- Deirdre BarryFair enough.
- Elena NovakNow the tickets. There were a couple in the last month, and one of them was marked high priority. Aisling, as I understand, you raised them. Would you like to say how it went?
- Aisling KielyYeah. The urgent one was something I'd marked as high because I had a consultant waiting on it. It got looked at quickly and it's closed now. The other was just a how-to. I'd no complaints about either.
- Elena NovakI am glad to hear that. I will send you the history, so that it is on record, and so that Donal and Cian can see that nothing is outstanding.
- Deirdre BarrySpeaking of Cian, he'll have the renewal conversation with Lewis at some point. I'm not sure where it's at.
- Elena NovakThe contract currently runs until 17 Sep 2026, and the renewal date on our records is 18 Sep 2026. Lewis owns the commercial side and he is in contact with Cian. The annual contracted figure at the moment is £18,525, and that is also what has been invoiced. I would prefer not to go further into the price on this call, as that is Lewis's to discuss with Cian.
- Deirdre BarryNo, that's grand. I just didn't want to be caught out if he asked me. I never buy without Cian anyway.
- Elena NovakUnderstood. What I can say is that the best thing for the renewal is that more of the consultants use the brain. It is the clearest argument that the subscription is worth it.
- Aisling KielyCould we do the training in two groups? Half in the office on one day, and the rest another. They won't all be in the same day.
- Elena NovakYes, that is sensible. I will propose two shorter sessions and you can choose the days. Deirdre, would you like me to include a short guide for the consultants, with the three questions you mentioned?
- Deirdre BarryOh, yes please. Roles, placements, invoices. Keep it to one page, they won't read more.
- Elena NovakThen let me list the actions. One, I send the answer on permissions and on the cost of any connector change. Two, I send two training options, in two groups, with a one-page guide. Three, I send the ticket history. Four, Aisling lets me know when the helpdesk change has a date. Are those correct?
- Aisling KielyThat's all of it, I think.
- Deirdre BarryGrand. And I'll find out what's up with the placements page showing a client twice. I'll send you an example, Aisling will have the name.
- Elena NovakPlease do. Thank you both. Kind regards, and you will have my notes by the end of the day.