Read this article to understand parts of this post:
https://joshbersin.com/2024/02/why-do-companies-hire-too-many-people/
As the news of 8K effected SAP colleagues has sunk in, and as tech industry layoffs continue, it’s safe to say that what many of us who have been in tech for 20+ years have experienced thus far in our careers is coming to an end. SAP has certainly made many mistakes and, in turn, negatively impacted the lives of many colleagues and their families. At this stage, we need to plan for ongoing change and what appears to be a core shift from customer value and employee trust to solely focusing on lining shareholder pockets.
The fifth point in the above article by Josh Bersin is incredibly representative of SAP’s core issues: the company has too many focal points, hires and fires based on the latest buzzwords and concepts (IoT/Leonardo, anyone?), and fails to simply produce top-notch enterprise software.
Innovation will always be critical, and M&A activities support innovation. This said — and I say this as someone who was part of the 2000s-era acquisitions — SAP’s strategy and associated objectives are as clear as mud.
If I were leading a design thinking strategy and enterprise roadmapping session with a customer, I’d lead them to select five clear strategic focal points at most, and each of these would encompass time-bound, measurable objectives. SAP’s constant strategic shifts are ki-ling customer relationships and employee trust. Yes, share price is at an all-time high, but customer satisfaction is moderate at best, and we all know the status of whether SAP is a trusted, people-focused employer. What appeals to shareholders does not equate to customer value-add, premier talent attraction, or internal trust.
SAP needs to get back to what it does best — ERP — and entirely revamp surrounding acquired and built cloud solutions with a clear, customer-centric strategy. Creating new organizations — and then eliminating them — based on the latest buzzword is not a strategy; instead, it’s an immature, knee-jerk reaction indicative of poor leadership.
Focusing on a clear, consistent strategy is the only way SAP’s workforce will stabilize. Right now, SAP is a Frankencloud, horribly-integrated (if integrated at all) mess of products and organizations based, seemingly, on trending hashtags. Those of us that help customers craft their strategy would never advise our customers to emulate SAP. No organization can be successful operating the way SAP has in the last 10+ years on a long-term basis. Arguably, the reason SAP continues to generate revenue is because replacing an ERP system is a big fu--ing expense and hassle, so customers keep using ECC/S4. Further, no organization can create a culture of trust with its customers and employees when it’s only goal is to maximize shareholder value.
SAP needs to go back to basics, or it will risk customer attrition. It is damaging its reputation among customers, existing employees, and future talent by operating in its current state of chaos. Moving roles to India will drive operational efficiencies, but it will likely damage CSAT and it will certainly diminish its desirability amongst talent outside of India. I’d be happy to lead the Executive Board and a representative sample of colleagues through the strategic planning and change management that is required to right the existing clusterfu-k.
Hint: Use your own talent to drive success, EB members. You trust us to do this with organizations larger than SAP — why not do this within SAP?