Our culture

People are often surprised at the warm and welcoming community that exists within SAP, because they expect a big technology company like ours to be mechanical and traditional. It's not easy to translate that culture into words, nor can we really answer the question "what does it feel like to work at SAP?", because so much of a culture is about experiencing the environment and atmosphere for yourself. People tell us there's a different feeling to SAP -a real vibrancy- one that increases the more time they spend here.

Even if we can't quite describe that feeling, we can tell you about the factors that go into building it.

Collaboration is one of the bywords of our culture. As we enter new territory, we are all learning together - there are seldom right or wrong answers, only ideas, which is why we must use the skills and experiences of our people to full effect. We positively encourage the sharing of knowledge, however abstract, because the most fleeting thought can spark off truly ground-breaking idea. This all comes back to our quality of people, and providing an environment where people at all levels of the business can create and share information together. That's why networking internally is so important, so you can access the expertise and knowledge you need, when you need it.

How do we provide this kind of environment?

By bringing people in from truly diverse backgrounds. Different skill sets and experiences provide us with a mixed "gene pool", which makes us very strong, and also makes it a much more exciting environment to work in.

Through open, straightforward communication. SAP is honest with its customers and its own people, which is why the leaders of our business have naturally earned people's trust.

We believe all our people should be approachable and willing to help, from the top down. Our open-door policy is very real. Managers and directors go out of their way to make themselves available to staff, through a range of access initiatives. We operate an "open calendar" policy for example, where you can request and book a meeting with anyone in the company.

When it comes to making the right call in a number of complex and challenging market situations, managers often canvass the opinions of staff to inform those decisions. People at SAP are offered genuine opportunities to contribute to the future shape and direction of the company. F.e. During the kick-off beginning of 2003 the managing director, Hakan Yuksel, introduced a competition named "Entrepreneur of the Year". Employees have to deliver a project or business plan regarding communication cross LOB (lign of businesses). The team of employees, whose strategy seems the best for this item, will receive a reward from the board.

You might like to know we're pretty sociable bunch, too. After gathering in a boardroom to present performance figures, we have a nice cocktail all together. And once a year our general meeting is transformed not in a company day but in a family day. SAP is also booking a running track every Monday night and Wednesday noon for its employees to exercise their fitness and to test their running skills.

We also think our building in Brussels (the former Glaverbel building) is pretty out of the ordinary. Our visitors keep telling us how much they love it, because the design is visually exciting, functionally efficient and an inspirational place to work.