Use the Meeting step whenever two or more people come together, whether in person or virtually. The Meeting step is distinct from a Manual Task because it involves multiple participants simultaneously, and WorkflowMaps uses this to calculate the true cost of the meeting automatically.
WHEN TO USE IT
Use Meeting for:
Client kickoff calls
Team standups
Review or feedback sessions
Strategy sessions
Onboarding calls with new hires or clients
Any collaborative session where multiple people are present at the same time
If only one person is involved, use a Manual Task instead.
FIELDS
Title Name it clearly. "Client Kickoff Call", "Weekly Team Standup", "Campaign Review Session".
Summary A brief description of what the meeting covers and its purpose.
Facilitator The person who leads or chairs the meeting.
Location Type Choose Physical (in person) or Virtual (video call, phone). This is useful context for the map and for any SOPs linked from this step.
Participants Add all attendees from the People system.
Agenda The items to be covered. Adding an agenda here makes the step genuinely useful as operational documentation. A team member looking at the map knows exactly what a meeting involves without asking anyone.
Duration How long the meeting runs. Enter in minutes.
Meeting Link A link to the recurring video call, calendar invite, or booking page.
Time How long this step typically takes. Enter in minutes, hours, or days. Add time after you have mapped the full workflow, not during the mapping process.
Cost The cost rate for this step. Set as per hour (and the system calculates cost from time and rate) or as a fixed cost per step. Add cost after you have mapped the full workflow.
HOW COST IS CALCULATED
Meeting cost is calculated from the Time and Cost fields, the same way as a Manual Task. Set the duration and cost rate and the system works out the total. You can set cost as a per-hour rate or as a fixed cost per step.
A useful exercise is to work out the true cost of a recurring meeting: a 60-minute meeting with five people each costing £50 per hour equals £250 per meeting. If this meeting runs weekly, that is £13,000 per year from a single recurring meeting. Surfacing this kind of number during a discovery session is often a significant moment for clients who have never thought of meetings as a cost centre.
Add cost after you have mapped the full workflow, not during the mapping process.
A NOTE ON MEETING VS MANUAL TASK
Sometimes what looks like a meeting is really a series of manual tasks that happen to occur at the same time. If the meeting is primarily one person doing something (presenting, reviewing, explaining) while others passively receive, consider whether the meeting step is the right fit or whether the core action should be a Manual Task with a note about the meeting context. The goal is always clarity about what is actually happening and who is doing what.