Company Tops Employee Ratings in Germany for Fourth Year Running; Receives Award in Japan for Second Time
WALLDORF, Germany – February 13, 2008 – SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced that it has been named “Germany’s Best Employer” for the fourth consecutive year in the 2008 “Great Place to Work” initiative, and that it has been named among the leading employers in Japan by the Great Place to Work Institute (GPTW). The designations recognize SAP’s efforts to provide rewarding career opportunities and a positive work environment for its employees around the world.
Conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute (GPTW) with partners German business magazine Capital, HR magazine personalmagazin, business magazine impulse, insurance group ASSTEL and the initiative New Quality of Work INQA, the award recognizes SAP as the top ranking business in the category of “companies with more than 5,000 employees.” As a result, SAP now qualifies as a nominee in the Institute’s selection for Europe’s most attractive employer. This year, nearly 250 German companies of all sizes and industries participated in the initiative.
In addition, SAP Japan ranked among top 20 companies from the GPTW Institute for the second time in as many years. Participating companies in Japan included global firms such as Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, along with a mix of small and large local Japanese companies.
Rather than evaluations by a jury, rankings are based on anonymous employee assessments of their company that follow an internationally standardized methodology developed by the Great Place to Work Institute. Nearly 350 employees at SAP Germany answered approximately 60 questions in five categories: fairness, team spirit, credibility, pride and respect toward their employer. The classification covers the entire spectrum of relevant working aspects and inner-company relationships.
High rankings from SAP employees underline the great importance the company places on its employee corporate culture. Personal responsibility for achieving superior customer orientation, innovation and quality awareness, as well as striving to deliver first-class products were cited as the definitive characteristics that make SAP a great place to work. The employee survey was complemented by the initiative’s extensive culture audit completed by SAP’s human resources team.
In last year’s Germany initiative, SAP received exceptional distinction in the category of “Health” and in 2006 in the “Fairness” and “Diversity” categories. In 2007, SAP Labs India was named among Top 10 Great Places to Work and SAP Japan ranked among top 20 in Japan’s first Great Place to Work Survey. In 2006, three SAP subsidiaries in Latin America – Mexico, Region Sur and Andina – won “Best Place to Work” awards. These designations continue a string of recognition of SAP’s employment culture in key markets.
“We are pleased to be named Germany’s best employer for the fourth consecutive year and to be recognized again for our efforts in Japan,” said Claus E. Heinrich, executive board member, SAP AG. “We believe that SAP provides an excellent and exciting work environment that enables our employees to deliver outstanding performance, and it is evident from these recognitions that our employees agree. The result is a passionate, dedicated team of people who continue to exceed expectations.”