If you spend half your workweek in meetings, you know the pain: too many, too long, and too little to show for it. You want to fix that. This guide is for anyone sick of “just one more sync” and looking for real, actionable data to make meetings better—not just prettier dashboards.
We’ll walk through how to use Letsdive analytics to actually measure meeting productivity. No fluff, no magic wands—just a straightforward way to see what’s working, what’s not, and what to ignore.
Why bother measuring meeting productivity?
Meetings eat up time, focus, and energy. But most teams never check if they’re actually useful. Calendar invites pile up, and everyone just assumes it’s “the cost of business.” But with a few numbers and a bit of honesty, you can spot waste and fix it.
Don’t expect software to magically make every meeting worthwhile. But the right data can show you: - Who’s actually talking (and who’s not) - Which meetings always run over - How often people multitask or skip altogether - What types of meetings are eating your calendar
The goal: fewer, better meetings—or at least, less wasted time.
Step 1: Get Set Up with Letsdive Analytics
Letsdive isn’t a magic bullet, but it does pull all your meeting data into one place so you can see what’s happening, not just guess. Here’s what you need to do:
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Connect your calendar
Letsdive plugs into Google or Outlook calendars. This is how it tracks your meetings. If your company’s IT is picky, you might need to get approval first. -
Invite your team (if you want a full picture)
You’ll get more useful data if multiple people join. Otherwise, you’ll only see your own stats, which is still helpful but limited. -
Sync your video conferencing tools (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet)
This lets Letsdive track who joined, how long people stayed, and sometimes even who spoke.
Pro tip: If people are worried about privacy, remind them that Letsdive tracks attendance and talk time—not what you actually say.
Step 2: Learn the Letsdive Analytics Dashboard
The dashboard is where you’ll spend most of your time. Here’s what to focus on (and what to skip):
The Metrics That Matter
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Total meeting hours:
Obvious, but it’s a gut punch to see the weekly total. If your team’s spending more time in meetings than doing actual work, you’ll know. -
Meetings per person:
Useful for spotting overbooked team members—or serial meeting organizers. -
Attendance rate:
If people keep skipping, it’s a red flag: either the meeting isn’t valuable, or everyone’s too busy. -
Talk time distribution:
Letsdive can show you who’s talking and for how long. Great for seeing if meetings are dominated by a few voices or if everyone participates. -
Recurring meeting bloat:
Letsdive flags recurring meetings that people aren’t attending or consistently run over. These are prime candidates for cancellation.
What to Ignore
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“Engagement” scores based on AI mood detection:
These are mostly noise. Unless your team is shouting or sleeping on camera, it’s not that useful. -
Vanity stats (“most meetings held,” “total invites sent”):
These don’t mean much. Focus on what actually affects work.
Step 3: Set a Baseline
Before you can improve meeting productivity, you need to know where you are now.
- Pick a “normal” week (not during a product launch, not during a holiday).
- Export or screenshot key stats: total meeting hours, average attendance, talk time distribution, and number of recurring meetings.
- Share the numbers with your team. Don’t shame anyone. The point is to see what’s happening, not to call people out.
Pro tip: Don’t get lost in the numbers. Pick 2–3 metrics that actually matter for your team.
Step 4: Analyze and Ask the Right Questions
Now for the detective work. Review your baseline and look for patterns:
- Are certain teams or people always in meetings?
- Maybe their calendars need protection, or they need permission to say no.
- Which recurring meetings get skipped or run long?
- If nobody shows up, kill the meeting. If it always runs long, the agenda’s probably too packed or the meeting’s badly run.
- Is talk time lopsided?
- If one person does all the talking, that’s a sign it’s a status update, not a real conversation.
- How many meetings could be emails?
- If attendance is low and nobody participates, that’s your answer.
Don’t overthink it. If a meeting looks useless, it probably is.
Step 5: Take Action—Trim, Change, or Kill Meetings
Data’s only useful if you do something with it. Here’s how to use Letsdive analytics to actually fix your meeting load:
What to Try
- Cancel or shorten recurring meetings with low attendance.
- Rotate facilitators so one person doesn’t dominate—and others get a chance to run things.
- Set a “no meeting” day if your analytics show constant context switching.
- Share data with your team (not just leadership), so everyone can push for better meetings.
What Usually Fails
- Mandating everyone “actively participate” in every meeting
If a meeting needs this much policing, it’s probably not needed in the first place. - Relying on AI-generated “meeting quality” scores
Use your eyes and ears, not just analytics.
Step 6: Rinse and Repeat
Don’t treat this as a one-and-done exercise. Meetings creep back in. People’s habits revert. Set a calendar reminder to review Letsdive analytics every month or quarter.
- Check if total meeting hours are trending down.
- See if talk time is getting more balanced.
- Ask the team if meetings feel more useful—not just shorter.
If things aren’t improving, dig into why. Maybe the real issue is something else (like too many processes, or the wrong people in the room).
Quick Wins and Pitfalls to Avoid
Quick Wins
- Cancel one recurring meeting this week—just try it.
- Shorten your default meeting length from 60 to 45 minutes.
- Add agendas to calendar invites so everyone knows what’s coming.
- Block out focus time on your calendar and defend it.
Pitfalls
- Don’t obsess over every tiny stat. Pick the ones that matter.
- Don’t expect a dashboard to fix bad team dynamics.
- Don’t use analytics to micromanage—use them to start honest conversations.
Keep It Simple
You don’t need fancy tools or a PhD in data science to make meetings suck less. Letsdive analytics gives you visibility, but it’s up to you and your team to act on what you see. Start small, measure, tweak, and repeat. Your calendar—and your sanity—will thank you.