Ardenmore Pension Administration / BB-Demo – Qbr
Callcompleted
Ardenmore Pension Administration · 2025-01-14 16:00
Active users fell to about four of 25 seats. Elaine Turvey questioned whether the £23k a year can be justified to the board and wants a usage case before any renewal paper.
What was said
What this says
Current to 13 Oct 26Active users fell to about four of 25 seats. Elaine Turvey questioned whether the £23k a year can be justified to the board and wants a usage case before any renewal paper.
What happened: Marcus Bell reported about four daily active users out of 25, down by getting on for half on the previous quarter. Sukhvinder Dhillon said a good chunk of those four is him, and the client-relationship team have gone back to spreadsheets.
Customer view: Elaine said the issue is whether they are getting anything for the money, not payment. Asked if she should keep it, Sukhvinder said it is worth it only if the client-relationship team use it.
Commercial: Tom Ashdown confirmed the order form and invoices both say £23k a year, with nothing overdue. The contract runs to 29 Aug 2025, and Elaine will not decide on the call.
Watch: Connectors are loading and there were no tickets, so the problem is habit, not the service.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Theme
Usage drop, value challenge
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
negative
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BB-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Marcus Bell to send Elaine a one-page usage summary by the end of the week.
- Sukhvinder Dhillon to ask the client-relationship team what they want from a refresher this week.
- Tom Ashdown to agree dates with Elaine for a renewal conversation well ahead of 29 Aug 2025.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Active users fell to about four of 25, with Sukhvinder a large share of them, a key-person risk.
- Elaine questions whether the £23,000 a year is justified and will want a usage case before any renewal paper.
- The client-relationship team have reverted to spreadsheets and some never knew what to ask.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- A refresher using Ardenmore's own scheme examples could rebuild the team's habit of asking.
- Sukhvinder sees clear value if the client-relationship team use it, saving them chasing across systems.
Transcript
Marcus Bell NoneAfternoon, all. Can everyone hear me alright?
Elaine Turvey NoneYes, I can hear you. Good afternoon.
Sukhvinder Dhillon NoneAfternoon. Yes, fine here. Sorry, just getting my camera to behave.
Tom Ashdown NoneNo drama, take your time. How's your week been, Elaine? Not too grim down in Birmingham? It's been absolutely freezing up here.- Elaine Turvey NoneCold, yes. And busy. We've had a run of scheme valuations, so everyone's a bit stretched. I do have a hard stop at five, so I'd like to keep to the hour if we can.
- Marcus Bell NoneOf course. I'll share my screen and say what I want to cover. Three things, really. How the team's been using the brain this quarter, what's happened with the connectors, and then what you'd want from us between now and the summer. Does that work?
- Elaine Turvey NoneCan I start with adoption? It's what I always want to know first. Who is actually using it?
- Marcus Bell NoneFair question, and I've pulled the numbers. Over the last month, on an average day, it's been about four people active. Out of the twenty-five licensed seats. And that's down quite a lot on the previous quarter, getting on for half.
- Elaine Turvey NoneFour. Out of twenty-five.
- Marcus Bell NoneYeah. I don't want to dress it up, Elaine. That's what the usage shows.
- Sukhvinder Dhillon NoneIf I can come in on that. Honestly, a good chunk of the four is me. I'm in most days, checking that the scheme data lines up with what we hold in the administration system. The client-relationship team were in a lot more in the first months. They used it to prep before trustee meetings.
- Tom Ashdown NoneAnd what's changed, do you think? Is it that they've gone off it, or just that they've not had the time?
- Sukhvinder Dhillon NoneA bit of both, I'd say. With the valuations on, they've gone back to what they know. Their own spreadsheets, mostly. And some of them never really got into asking it questions in the first place. They'd say, I don't know what to ask it.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's useful, thank you. And that's on us as much as you. We did the training at the start and I don't think we've been back since. I'd be happy to jump on a call with the team and do a proper refresher, using your own scheme examples.
- Elaine Turvey NoneMm. Let me ask the other side of it, though. We pay twenty-three thousand pounds a year for this. Can we justify that to the board, if it's four people?
- Tom Ashdown NoneYeah, I'd rather you said it straight, so thank you. Just so we're all looking at the same thing, the order form and the invoices both say twenty-three thousand a year, so there's nothing odd on the billing side. Nothing overdue either, which I know you'll have checked.
- Elaine Turvey NoneYes, finance are fine on that. Payments are not the issue. The issue is whether we're getting anything for it.
- Tom Ashdown NoneRight. And I'm not going to argue the point with you on a call. Marcus is better placed to show you the value, and I'd rather we gave you something you can actually take to the board than a sales pitch.
- Marcus Bell NoneAgreed. Can I show you the rest of what I've got, and then we'll come back to what would be useful for you to take away?
- Elaine Turvey NonePlease do.
- Marcus Bell NoneOkay, so on the connectors. Everything that was set up is still loading, nothing's gone quiet, and there have been no tickets from you this last month. Not one. Which on the technical side is good news. But I'll be honest, a quiet queue can also just mean people aren't in there.
- Sukhvinder Dhillon NoneThat's fair. I've not had a reason to raise anything. It does what it did. It's just not being used by many of us.
- Elaine Turvey NoneSo the data is fine, it's the people. Is that what you're both saying?
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's how I read it, yes. The brain's available and refreshing every night. It's the day to day habit that's slipped.
- Elaine Turvey NoneHm. Sukhvinder, can I ask you something? If you were me, would you keep it?
- Sukhvinder Dhillon NoneOh. That's a bit of a spot. I think, if the client-relationship team would use it, then yes, because it saves them a lot of chasing across systems. If they won't, then I can't say it's worth it for the one or two of us who do.
- Elaine Turvey NoneThat's a straight answer, thank you.
- Tom Ashdown NoneCan I suggest something, then? Rather than anyone deciding today, let's give it a proper go with the people who've drifted off. Marcus does the refresher, we see where the numbers go over the next few weeks, and you've got something real to put in front of the board. Leave the renewal side of it with me. The contract runs to 29 Aug 2025, so there's time.
- Elaine Turvey NoneI'm not deciding anything on this call, Tom. Let's not rush. But I'd want to see a usage case before the board sees any renewal paper.
- Tom Ashdown NoneCompletely fair. No drama.
- Marcus Bell NoneSo, what I'll do. I'll send you a short usage summary by the end of the week. Who's active, how that compares with last quarter, and which of the twenty-five seats haven't been touched. Plain and short, so you can forward it.
- Elaine Turvey NoneThat would help. Keep it to a page if you can.
- Marcus Bell NoneA page. Done. Sukhvinder, would you be able to ask the client-relationship team what they'd want from a refresher? Even a couple of lines. I'd rather build it around what they actually do.
- Sukhvinder Dhillon NoneYes, I'll ask them this week. I'll tell them it's short.
- Tom Ashdown NoneAnd I'll put something in the diary for a conversation about the renewal, well ahead of the end of August, so nobody's up against a deadline. Elaine, I'll check with you on dates first.
- Elaine Turvey NonePlease do. Right, I must go, I've got the valuations team waiting. Thank you all.
- Marcus Bell NoneThanks, Elaine. Speak soon.
- Tom Ashdown NoneCheers, all. Take care.
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