Employee networks are considered a best practice and serve as a critical component of a comprehensive diversity strategy. The benefits and activities of these networks are many, since they provide a forum for sharing information, ideas, and awareness of issues beyond the network with other SAP employees and the wider SAP ecosystem. The employee networks serve as focus groups that identify and help resolve issues or barriers in practices and processes, while assisting SAP in attracting, developing, and retaining qualified and talented professionals.

SAP currently supports the following employee networks under the motto "Embracing Our Differences" – all active at our headquarters with many local chapters being founded in other SAP locations:

• Business Women's Network@SAP – Working towards continuous improvement of SAP's company culture and overall success through the inclusion of women at all levels of the company, this network offers a platform for women to share experiences, provide support, and advise SAP on the benefits of opportunities where women can contribute to the business.
• Cultures@SAP – This network emerged from a need to help all SAP employees worldwide promote inclusiveness and multicultural appreciation. Using all means of communication and learning options, this network supports a variety of diversity and cultural events that promote understanding of the countries and cultures represented informally throughout SAP.
• DisAbility@SAP – This team focuses on the needs and opportunities for those with disabilities and for alleviating and helping remove the challenges these colleagues face in their everyday work. Adhering to legal stipulations in Germany, SAP has its own elected body of representatives in Germany (SBV@ SAP) who represent the needs and working conditions for employees with severe disabilities.
• Family&Career@SAP – Each year brings thousands of new children to the SAP family – giving us ample reason to deal with issues regarding compatibility of family and career, especially those regarding the balance between work and life. A parents' association in Germany (Family@SAP e.V) focuses on the needs of working parents, creating a dynamic forum for colleagues to share information and experiences, provide information on childcare options, offer holiday programs, and hold lectures and seminars on childrearing topics. The Family&Career@SAP team within the Health & Diversity department at SAP, focuses on various topics related to family and career, such as childcare, parental leave, part-time work, and family-related events.
• Generations@SAP – This network for employees brings together colleagues to answer questions and share experiences on issues affecting employment, retirement, semi-retirement, pensions, healthcare, and living situations. The network is focused primarily on those employees ending fulltime employment at SAP, and supports SAP in its efforts to create plans for personnel development, health services, training, and working environments for employees.
• HomoSAPiens@SAP – Focused on encouraging transparency and visibility for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) colleagues at SAP, this network increases the understanding of work and life issues and supports colleagues to be more open about who they are and how awareness of GLBT issues contribute to SAP's success.

Intercultural Competence
With customers around the globe and colleagues in more then 50 countries, intercultural competence is critical to the ongoing success of SAP. We offer training that encourages our employees to continuously advance in this area. For example, diversity education includes workshops with customized teambuilding sessions for new teams and diversity awareness during on-boarding process for new employees. There is also a curriculum for new managers that address cultural conditioning; impact of differences on communication, behaviors, and decision making; danger of stereotypes and perception road blocks; and team effectiveness and positive interaction.

Gender Workshops
Thirty percent of SAP employees are women. Our gender workshops create awareness for both women and men at SAP and help enhance cooperation across genders, while preparing attendees to become better leaders who bring out the best in all team members.

Work/Life Balance
The success of SAP depends on our employees being available to work, as well as their flexibility and their willingness to take on responsibility. SAP strives to provide the ideal working conditions for motivating our employees. We have no time cards at SAP to monitor when employees arrive and leave. We give our employees a great deal of personal responsibility and regard trust – both among and between our employees and managers – to be extremely important.

In many regions, SAP has created programs that foster the medical, psychological, and social welfare of employees. Employees can benefit from an extensive range of services, including walk-in medical services, preventative check-ups, and relaxation and fitness programs.