Taro Logo

Politically unstable, rudderless, and drowned in bureaucracy

Senior Software Engineer
Current Employee
Has worked at SAP for 20 years
October 24, 2015
Palo Alto, California
3.0
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDoesn't Approve of CEO
Pros

A surprisingly large number of very intelligent engineers, some very interesting technologies, and a fair amount of freedom and flexibility. The Palo Alto campus is very pleasant, with open spaces, decent cafeterias, and a nice little garden. There is a fitness center, but it's a bit inadequate.

Cons

Restructuring is a biannual event, or worse. Political coups and hijacking of projects are common occurrences. Products are created by engineering, then sold as something else by a perpetually disconnected sales and marketing army. Suddenly, a solidly engineered technology needs to be hacked into whatever it got positioned as for customers.

HR in the US has been completely outsourced to offshore call centers. Things like compensation for paid leave, reimbursement for expenses, and help with problems with the health insurance provider can take months to resolve.

Advice to Management

#1 Priority - Hire a real human resources department, with on-site reps available to employees in all major locations. Fire whoever came up with the idea of outsourcing HR.

Was this helpful?

SAP Interview Experiences