How much meetings are really costing your company

Executive overview

Most companies have no idea what meetings actually cost. A simple formula reveals that 12–25% of total payroll is consumed by meetings. One to two hours per employee per day adds up to $125k–$250k annually for a 15–20 person company.

Cameron Herold wrote Meetings Suck so every employee — not just managers — could learn to run, attend, and choose meetings effectively.

The meeting cost formula

• Take total annual payroll cost
• Assume 1–2 hours per employee per day in meetings or meeting-like calls
• 12–25% of payroll is the resulting waste range
• A $1M payroll = $120k–$250k spent on meetings annually

What Meetings Suck covers

• 30% of the book: how to lead, set up, and run meetings
• 30%: how to attend and participate as an employee
• Final third: which meetings to hold to build culture and drive growth