17 signals that identify meetings wasting time and costing more than you think.
Click each statement that applies to your organisation. The score calculates itself.
€105,600average annual meeting costs for organisations with 50–150 employees
67%of meetings end without a concrete decision
2.4×the same item returns before a decision is finally made
How it works: Click on a statement when you recognise it in your organisation.
Your score0/ 17
01Preparation. Or the lack thereof
The agenda is sent less than 24 hours before the meeting, or not at all.Participants arrive unprepared. The first ten minutes are lost.
There is no decision question on the agenda. The topic is described, not the intended decision.Without a decision question, everyone searches for the core issue. That costs time and produces nothing.
No documents are shared before the meeting. The presenter shares everything on the spot.Providing information does not belong in the meeting. It belongs in the pre-read.
02Participants. Who belongs and who does not
Participants are present who have no mandate, knowledge, or decision authority for any agenda item.Every unnecessary participant costs money and slows the conversation.
The person with the mandate to decide is not present or represented.Then this is not a decision meeting. It is a discussion group.
No one has been told in advance about their specific role: chair, presenter, critical partner, or note-taker.
03During the meeting. Structure and pace
The meeting does not start with the goal or order of the agenda.Without a shared framework, every participant goes their own way.
New topics are raised that have nothing to do with the decision question, and they are also addressed.What is not on the agenda belongs on the parking list. Not in the meeting.
The meeting structurally runs over time. The planned end time is a guideline, not a boundary.Overruns are not inevitable. They are a symptom of poor preparation.
The same person speaks more than 60% of the time. Others nod or look at their phones.
04Decision-making. Or the lack thereof
The meeting ends without an explicit decision being spoken and recorded.A decision not spoken aloud is not a decision. It is a feeling.
Actions are named without an owner or date.An action without an owner and date is an intention. Nothing more.
The same topic was on the agenda last meeting, and the one before that.The most expensive meeting is the repeat meeting. You pay again every time.
05Follow-up. What happens after the meeting
Minutes are sent more than 48 hours after the meeting, or not at all.
No one actively checks whether actions have been completed before the next meeting.Follow-up is not a luxury. It is the reason the meeting took place.
There is no decision log. Decisions can only be found in scattered minutes or emails.
Progress on decisions is only visible through a new meeting.Monitoring progress should never be a reason for a meeting.
Your outcome
0 – 3Your meeting structure is strong. Fine-tune the details with MCR.
4 – 8Time and money are leaking. The cause is structural, not incidental.
9 – 13Your organisation pays for meetings that produce nothing. That is calculable.
14 – 17Meetings have become a cost centre. No decision justifies this.
Do you know what this costs your organisation?
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