Social Performance
Our Workforce
People are at the heart of our organization
Aiming for a highly engaged, diverse, future-fit workforce equipped with the right skills helps SAP attract and retain the best talent. Our three people strategy pillars are:
Build SAP’s Skills for the Future by attracting the best and most diverse talent and continuously up-/reskilling our people
Drive SAP’s Winning and Inclusive Culture by fostering a culture that enables and rewards impact and business outcomes and nurtures inclusion and belonging
Change the Way We Lead – Do What’s Right by driving accountability and empowerment in an agile, healthy, and inclusive environment
Employee Headcount by Region and Function
The following table provides an overview of employee headcount, broken down by function and by the regions EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), Americas (North America and Latin America), and APJ (Asia Pacific Japan).
| Full-time equivalents | 12/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | 12/31/2021 | |||||||||
| EMEA | Americas | APJ | Total | EMEA | Americas | APJ | Total | EMEA | Americas | APJ | Total | |
| Cloud and software1 | 4,389 | 4,266 | 4,426 | 13,080 | 4,178 | 4,025 | 4,538 | 12,740 | 4,551 | 4,191 | 4,406 | 13,148 |
| Services | 8,178 | 5,013 | 5,481 | 18,672 | 8,129 | 5,106 | 5,769 | 19,005 | 8,095 | 5,053 | 5,864 | 19,012 |
| Research and development1 | 18,086 | 5,884 | 12,474 | 36,444 | 17,764 | 5,752 | 11,764 | 35,280 | 16,487 | 5,641 | 11,248 | 33,377 |
| Sales and marketing | 12,086 | 10,300 | 5,342 | 27,728 | 11,671 | 10,633 | 5,463 | 27,766 | 10,721 | 10,186 | 5,183 | 26,090 |
| General and administration | 3,619 | 1,777 | 1,307 | 6,704 | 3,387 | 1,804 | 1,240 | 6,431 | 3,278 | 1,866 | 1,164 | 6,308 |
| Infrastructure | 2,834 | 1,274 | 867 | 4,975 | 2,795 | 1,382 | 912 | 5,089 | 2,602 | 1,299 | 821 | 4,722 |
| SAP Group (December 31) | 49,191 | 28,515 | 29,897 | 107,602 | 47,924 | 28,702 | 29,686 | 106,312 | 45,734 | 28,236 | 28,687 | 102,658 |
| Thereof acquisitions | 421 | 138 | 0 | 558 | 188 | 189 | 8 | 385 | 377 | 44 | 44 | 465 |
| SAP Group (months’ end average) | 48,222 | 28,239 | 29,582 | 106,043 | 47,359 | 28,785 | 29,438 | 105,582 | 44,622 | 27,822 | 28,009 | 100,453 |
1 Due to the updated cost allocation policy described in Note (IN.1), headcount numbers for the comparative period were adjusted accordingly.
Engagement and Loyalty
Build SAP's skills for the future
SAP is committed to accelerating cloud growth. This requires workforce upskilling and expansion. Attracting, hiring, onboarding, developing, and retaining top talent is vital for our future success. In 2023, we focused on internal roles and strategic investment areas to support our transformation and long-term growth.
The competitive talent market underscores the need to further communicate our Employer Value Proposition, encourage employee ambassadorship, and promote referrals. We remain committed to fostering inclusivity across generations, genders, nationalities, and more, to ensure a rich and diverse workforce.
Ambition for women in management and gender parity is on track
As at December 31, 2022, we employed 111,961 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees worldwide. This represents an increase in the workforce of 4,546 FTEs (410 thereof from acquisitions) in comparison to 2021.
The rate of Women in Management increased to 29.4% compared to 28.3% in 2021. For 2023, we will keep our ambition to increase the rate of women in management to 30%. Our aspiration is to reach gender parity in our workforce at all levels and to retain women leaders.
Working Culture
Drive SAP’s winning and inclusive culture
With our performance management approach, we aim to establish a high-performance focus by linking business goals to the impact of individuals and teams. Development opportunities, meaningful reward packages, and a culture of inclusion foster an environment where the full potential of every individual is realized. It is critical that our employees see the link between their individual contribution and SAP’s future success.
Ambition for women in management and gender parity is on track
As at December 31, 2022, we employed 111,961 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees worldwide. This represents an increase in the workforce of 4,546 FTEs (410 thereof from acquisitions) in comparison to 2021.
The rate of Women in Management increased to 29.4% compared to 28.3% in 2021. For 2023, we will keep our ambition to increase the rate of women in management to 30%. Our aspiration is to reach gender parity in our workforce at all levels and to retain women leaders.