Career

Preparing for an employee meeting: What employees should clarify

An employee meeting goes better when employees sort out goals, feedback, workload, and development in advance. A practical checklist.

Editorial team8 min reading time
An employee prepares notes for an employee meeting in an Austrian office

Status: June 28, 2026. An employee appraisal sounds like routine, but it often decides more than just a few notes in the personnel file. It is about performance, cooperation, goals, development, workload, further training, and sometimes even unspoken expectations. Those who go in unprepared only react. Those who prepare well can use the conversation to make their own work more visible and agree on concrete next steps.

Especially in Austria, employee appraisals are organized very differently. Some companies conduct them annually with a form and target agreement, others only on an ad-hoc basis. The AMS guide describes employee appraisals as a dialogue between manager and employee, in which, among other things, cooperation, work environment, leadership style, goals, and development can be discussed. That is precisely why it is worth not just ticking off the conversation as a mandatory appointment.

Preparation does not start at the appointment

The most important question is: What should be clearer after the conversation than before? This can be a new task, better prioritization, a more realistic goal, a request for further training, or feedback on cooperation. Those who just wait to see what points the manager brings to the table give away influence on the agenda.

The AMS recommends asking for sufficient preparation time. This is practically relevant if the appointment is scheduled at very short notice. Employees should at least know whether it is a regular annual review, a target check, a development interview, or a specific topic. This determines which documents are useful.

A brief preparation is often enough: task list, most important projects, results, open problems, questions, and two to three wishes for the coming months. Those who have collected numbers, examples, or feedback can argue more objectively. The conversation then becomes less emotional and more comprehensible.

Making successes visible without exaggerating

Many employees talk almost only about problems during the employee appraisal. This is understandable, but incomplete. Good work is often taken for granted in everyday life. Therefore, one should note down before the appointment what has been successful in the past period: completed projects, assumed responsibility, resolved customer concerns, improved processes, support for colleagues, or special peak loads.

The connection to the impact is important. Instead of just saying "Project X completed," it is better to say: "Project X was completed two weeks before the deadline, which allowed the team to test earlier." Or: "I took over the training of new colleagues, which made handovers stable faster." Such examples show contribution and benefit.

This is not self-praise for its own sake. It creates a fair basis when talking about goals, development, or resources later. Those who only react to criticism make it harder for the other person to see their own performance in full.

Demanding feedback concretely

A good employee appraisal should not stop at general formulations. Statements like "going well," "more initiative," or "improve communication" are too vague if concrete work steps are to result from them. Employees can ask: How would you notice that it is getting better? Which situation do you mean specifically? What expectation applies to the next three months?

Such follow-up questions are not defensive. They make feedback usable. Anyone receiving criticism should sort it out first: Is it about quality, speed, priorities, coordination, demeanor, expertise, or cooperation? Each of these points requires different measures. More overtime, for example, does not solve a prioritization problem if the tasks are fundamentally too many.

If feedback becomes emotional or fuzzy, a calm focus on examples helps. In the case of real tensions in the team, however, a normal employee appraisal is not always the right place. Then the article Addressing conflict at work: When a conversation really helps can help to prepare the topic separately and more objectively.

Only accept goals if they are controllable

Target agreements can be helpful if they are clear, realistic, and influenceable. They become problematic when employees are held responsible for results they can hardly control. A goal like "improve customer satisfaction" remains fuzzy without a framework. It is better to clarify which concrete key figure, which process, or which measure is meant.

Time and resources are also part of the target agreement. Anyone who is to take on a new project may need fewer routine tasks, access to information, a decision loop, or further training. Goal and framework must fit together. The public service provides, among other things, sample forms with target agreements for employee appraisals. This shows: Goals are not just a sentence, but need structure.

Employees should therefore pay attention to three points: What exactly is the goal? By when should it be achieved? What support or decision is necessary for this? If a goal is too big, an intermediate goal can make more sense. This makes progress measurable and prevents it from only being noticed at the next annual review that expectations have diverged.

Addressing workload objectively

Many employee appraisals stop at performance, even though working conditions are decisive. If there are permanently too many tasks, frequent interruptions, unclear priorities, or unrealistic deadlines, this should not be packaged as a personal time management problem. The Labor Inspectorate points out that mental stress in the company must be evaluated. This also includes work organization, work processes, and social relationships.

For employees, this means: Workload can be discussed better if it is described concretely. Which tasks collide? Which deadlines are open at the same time? How often do unplanned additional tasks arise? Which decision is missing? Anyone who documents their working time and overtime in a comprehensible way has a better basis for discussion. The article Recording working hours: Why keeping track at work counts.

fits this. It is important not just to say: "It is too much." It is better to say: "If Project A has priority, I need a decision on whether Task B is postponed." Or: "I can take over the additional representation if we reduce the reporting obligation this week." This turns workload into a controllable topic.

Making development and further training concrete

An employee appraisal is also a good place to address development. This does not always have to be a promotion. It can be about new expertise, more responsibility, job rotation, mentoring, project work, digital tools, customer contact, or professional specialization. The decisive factor is to connect the wish with the benefit for the work.

Instead of saying generally "I want to develop further," a concrete proposal helps: "I want to be more involved in data analysis in the next quarter and attend training on Tool X for this." Or: "I want to work on customer presentations first and later take over smaller appointments myself." Such proposals are easier to check.

Anyone talking about further training should also clarify the framework: costs, working time, learning time, goal of the measure, and transfer into everyday work. It is important not to confuse this topic with already existing special models such as further training time. The employee appraisal is often primarily about operational development and concrete next tasks.

Do not hide salary on the side

Some employees also want to talk about salary in the employee appraisal. This can be appropriate if performance, responsibility, and market value are a topic anyway. However, it should not be lost casually between feedback and target agreement. Anyone who wants to address salary needs a clear justification and should know whether the company has its own process for this.

A separation makes sense: First clarify performance and development, then name salary as a separate topic. For example: "Based on the additional responsibility, I would also like to talk about my classification and further salary development. Can we set a framework for this today or arrange a separate appointment?" This keeps the conversation professional.

If a job offer or a change is currently in the room, that is a different situation. Then the article Don't rush a job acceptance: How applicants should evaluate a job offer helps to evaluate salary, benefits, and working time more broadly.

After the conversation, follow-up counts

An employee appraisal without follow-up quickly loses its effect. At the end, the most important points should be clear: Which goals apply? Which tasks are changing? Which further training is being checked? By when is there feedback? Who takes over which next step?

The Chamber of Labor Upper Austria provides templates for preparation, meeting minutes, and agreed goals for employee appraisals. Even if not every company uses such forms, the idea behind it is important: Agreements should be recorded. A short email after the conversation can be enough if it summarizes objectively what was decided.

Anyone returning to everyday work after a long absence or illness should set goals particularly realistically. In such cases, the question of a gradual return can be additionally relevant. The article Back to work: How reintegration part-time work helps explains when a separate framework is necessary for this.

Checklist for the employee appraisal

  • Clarify appointment type: annual review, feedback, target check, or ad-hoc meeting.
  • Note down own successes, projects, and contributions with concrete examples.
  • Prepare open questions about priorities, resources, and expectations.
  • Have feedback concretized: situation, expectation, next step.
  • Only accept goals if responsibility, deadline, and support are clear.
  • Discuss workload with facts and possible prioritizations.
  • Formulate further training or development steps as a concrete proposal.
  • Summarize agreements in writing after the conversation.

Conclusion: A good conversation needs its own agenda

An employee appraisal is not an interrogation and not a pure form ritual. It is a chance to discuss work, expectations, and development in an orderly manner. Employees should therefore not just react, but bring their own agenda: What went well? What is holding things back? What should change? Which goals are realistic? What support is needed?

Anyone who prepares concrete examples, clear questions, and feasible proposals makes the conversation more useful for both sides. The most important step is simple: do not keep everything in your head, but sort it out in writing beforehand. This turns a mandatory appointment into a conversation that can actually improve everyday work.

Sources and further information

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