Detailed summaries and tailored action plans: MultiChoice gets the best out of meetings with Microsoft Copilot

MultiChoice has become Africa's leading entertainment platform, serving over 23.5 million households across sub-Saharan Africa. Driven by a mission to enrich lives and a commitment to the development of the African creative industry—MultiChoice continuously strives to make the viewing experience better, smarter, and more enjoyable for its customers. 

At the heart of MultiChoice's IT operation is its Project PMO, which manages technology implementation projects. “We lead everything from IT network upgrades to our call center systems to cost optimization initiatives,” shares Sonal Panchal-Malindi, Executive Head of PMO within MultiChoice IT. Each day for MultiChoice’s IT PMO is a marathon of meticulous planning and execution, with clear and timely communication as its highest priority. "I lead a team of more than 20 project managers, and we have numerous projects running at any given time."

Meetings are crucial for MultiChoice in addressing risks and aligning the team on the multitude of deliverables. "Every day, I have so many productive sessions, but then I face the dire need to create an action plan out of those meetings,” shares Sana Abbas, Program Manager within the IT PMO. For the IT PMO team, an average meeting can range from 4 to 50 attendees, making note-taking an important task.

Meeting revolution

This changed when MultiChoice adopted Microsoft Copilot and started automating the process of taking minutes and generating summaries. Microsoft Copilot has freed the PMO team members to fully engage in discussions without being distracted by note-taking. Panchal-Malindi remarks, "In meetings, Copilot has enabled us to be more present, to look at the dynamics in the room, and focus on the discussion topics and actionable outcomes." 

MultiChoice also saw significant time savings. "Before Copilot, we would work into the evenings to catch up on tasks, which created a lot of stress. For every hour of meetings, we’d spend half an hour on associated administrative tasks,” shares Abbas. “With Copilot, the administrative workload has been halved, if not more." This reduction has directly contributed to the IT PMO's ability to accelerate project timelines and improve the delivery of its numerous technology implementation projects.

The company has also been able to obtain meeting minutes much faster. "Previously, we aimed for minutes to be sent out within 24 hours of a meeting. With Copilot, we publish minutes within the day—sometimes even in a matter of hours or minutes,” highlights Panchal-Malindi. “This rapid dissemination is crucial because any delay between declaring an action and its execution can lead to misunderstandings. It's also about aligning everyone on what is expected of them, as people often leave meetings with differing interpretations. Copilot has truly been a game-changer in this regard."  

Streamlined, impartial decision-making

MultiChoice's IT PMO has also found a valuable ally in Copilot to streamline decision-making and ensure objectivity in communications. "Copilot can aid us in evaluating the pros and cons of proposed solutions during these sessions. For example, there are occasions where high-profile meetings carry legal implications, so we need to maintain sensitivity towards the decisions we make," Abbas reveals.

In addition, MultiChoice relies on Copilot to make objective interpretations of the meetings. Abbas adds, “While individuals may interpret things differently, Copilot maintains a neutral understanding and captures what was said without emotion or bias.” This impartiality has become a critical asset in MultiChoice’s multicultural and multidepartmental environment.

MultiChoice’s staff also benefit from receiving summaries that are tailored to them with action plans specific to their roles. Moreover, Copilot reminds meeting participants to review action items toward the end of the session. “I use this time to recap the discussion and ensure everyone is aligned with their action items before publishing,” says Abbas. “Additionally, we've used Copilot to gauge the sentiments of meetings, with remarkable results. It can discern the tone of voice and accurately interpret whether the meeting was tense or otherwise. This information can help us further improve how we run meetings in the future.” 

Embracing change

MultiChoice’s introduction of Copilot was initially met with the usual hesitance that accompanies new technology. Panchal-Malindi candidly shares, "At first, I used to take my own actions and compare them with Copilot’s. Today, I realize that Copilot captures most things accurately." For others, the initial phase of skepticism was overcome when the benefits of Copilot became evident. “We've received incredible feedback from our project management specialists, some of whom have transferred to another team but requested to maintain their Copilot license if that team had not yet adopted Copilot,” adds Panchal-Malindi. 

Focused on what matters most

“MultiChoice is embracing the AI revolution by implementing targeted solutions that improve both customer and employee experience. We use Copilot in our artificial intelligence (AI) Centre of Excellence to drive key initiatives around making our content more inclusive and accessible to our customers,” shares Mergan Velayudan, Acting Group Chief Information Officer at MultiChoice. 

Nishen Naicker, Principal AI Product Manager at MultiChoice, adds, “At the MultiChoice AI Centre of Excellence, we're helping our staff work smarter and save time by using Copilot to streamline tasks and boost productivity.” MultiChoice's PMO has already revolutionized how it operates with Copilot, shifting the focus from the minutiae of minute-taking to the crucial aspects of team dynamics, stakeholder communication, and proactive risk management. "The real success of project management is everything outside of the administrative tasks," Panchal-Malindi remarks. "With Copilot, project managers now have support with their administrative duties, which enables them to focus on the tasks, risks, or issues before they become problems. I could provide so many more anecdotes about how much of a game-changer Copilot has been from a project management perspective. And we haven't even fully utilized its capabilities yet. This tool has the potential to revolutionize our approach.”