SAP - The Goldilocks Workplace - Software Developer SAP Employee Review

5.0
23 Aug 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Awesome people: I've worked for many different companies and in multiple industries - these are the best co-workers I've ever had. It's not just confined to my team either; I find myself making friends with people in completely different teams, and pretty much everyone I run into is easy to get along with and respectful. Oh, and did I mention - there are some REALLY smart people working here. - Great work-life balance: I'm not constantly in crunch mode or working late/working weekends, nor is there any pressure to do so! - Interesting work: I find the cloud-based analytics product we're working on to be very interesting - I can see the value it actually has to a business, and I feel challenged to innovate and pump out amazing features. - Fun culture with cool perks: You'd think a German enterprise software company wouldn't be fun, but it's quite the opposite! The Vancouver Labs have all sorts of fun events that go on - food trucks, buffets + beer on the rooftop, annual summer & Christmas parties, therapy puppies, e-sports event tix (SAP sponsors Team Liquid), a lunch card, and the list goes on and on... It really is the "Goldilocks Workplace", in that it hits a happy medium in all the right spots. Decent compensation, interesting work, with just the right amount of pressure and innovation to keep things challenging in a good way. It's stable, secure, and the company's prospects are blue skies and green pastures all the way. It's a company you can see yourself staying at for a very, very, very long time. I recommend it to all my friends and loved ones, knowing that I'd be doing them a solid by getting them a job here.

Cons

- The rumor mill is that while SAP pays somewhere in the top 5th percentile, some of our competitors (e.g. Salesforce, Amazon, Microsoft) pay even more. I guess you have to ask yourself, what's that extra 20%-ish pay bump worth trading off? - The business can be very old-school corporate in some aspects, with word from Germany trumping the needs of local teams. It gets really annoying, for example, when the annual 3rd/4th quarter headcount freeze hits, because you know it always lifts at the start of next year, and all the hiring gets done then. I feel bad for really good candidates who are simply "unlucky" in the timing of their graduation. There's also the odd business policies occasionally, such as no more on-site stationery. Not a big deal, but it's a good example of the strange instructions that come down from HQ sometimes. It's a behemoth of a company, with lots of constantly shifting parts - but I'm sure it's the same at most companies of this magnitude. - Not all roles are built equal. While I personally have had a great experience, I do know that in other teams and other roles (non-dev roles), there may not be as much opportunity for advancement or innovation. So, to whomever reads this, please keep in mind that my perspective is from that of a Software Developer role - take that however you wish.

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SAP Response
7y
Thank you for taking the time to give a review. It is good to hear that you like working with smart people, the global presence, and the work-life balance. We appreciate your thorough review. We are love seeing the pros and the cons. The pros help validate that SAP is a great place to work and the cons help to make us better. We take all reviews on Glassdoor very seriously and will be sure to forward your feedback anonymously in the right direction. We are always looking for opportunities to continue to make SAP a great place to work.

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Pros

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Cons

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4.0
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Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

The people at SAP are genuinely nice, and the culture is generally supportive. The work-life balance is good to an extent, but when you're busy, you're BUSY. SAP is highly complex so expect to take a year to ramp up.

Cons

Only way to get a high salary is if you're hired externally. They do not reward employees who are loyal to the company. Closed opportunities often have to go through the Compensation Exception Committee, creating uncertainty around earnings. Prepare for constant change, whether that's solutions being removed from your sales bag, account shifts, territory realignments, or changing compensation policies. Quotas can be difficult to attain

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