Does a meeting have an ROI?
Companies measure the ROI of projects, campaigns, technology and investments.
But there is one investment we almost never measure:
the time we spend in meetings.
And that raises an uncomfortable question:
👉 Does a meeting have an ROI?
It should.
But not every meeting does.
Let’s start with the cost
A simple formula:
Cost = participants × duration × hourly cost
8 people × 1 hour × €60 = €480
In other words:
that meeting has already cost €480 before it even starts.
Now comes the important question:
What value do we expect to generate?
A meeting can:
→ unblock a project
→ prevent a mistake
→ generate revenue
→ accelerate a decision
→ reduce risks
→ align a team
So we can estimate its ROI:
ROI = (value generated − cost) / cost
If a meeting costs €480 and generates €1,500 in value:
ROI = 212.5%
But if it generates no decision, no progress and no identifiable outcome…
the value generated is 0.
And we have invested €480 with no return.
This is where Meetingitis begins
A meeting can end without a decision.
And then another meeting is scheduled.
Atlassian found that 77% of surveyed workers frequently participate in meetings that end with the decision to schedule another meeting.
Meeting → no decision → new meeting → new cost.
That cycle is one of the clearest expressions of Meetingitis.
We need to change the questions
❌ Who needs to attend?
✅ What value do we expect to generate?
❌ How long should it be?
✅ What is the minimum time we need?
❌ Should we have it every week?
✅ Is it still necessary?
❌ How did the meeting go?
✅ What outcome did we achieve?
Measure to improve
Professional meeting management should start measuring:
• Cost
• Frequency
• Participants
• Duration
• Objective
• Decisions
• Outcomes
• ROI
Because what we don’t measure, we can hardly improve.
Next time you schedule a meeting, ask yourself three questions:
1. How much is this meeting going to cost?
2. What outcome do we expect to achieve?
3. Is it worth bringing these people together?
If you can’t answer them…
maybe you don’t need a meeting.
Maybe you need something else.
Because the goal of fighting Meetingitis isn’t to have fewer meetings.
It is to make sure that every meeting is worth the time it costs.
👉 Calculate the cost of your meetings.
👉 Discover our Quick Wins against Meetingitis.
👉 Learn about the Meetingitis Method.
#Meetingitis #Meetings #Productivity #ROI #Leadership #Management #FutureOfWork
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