It seems that now our bonuses are also calculated with the WHAT and HOW scores. My manager created easy goals for a couple of colleagues who are her friends and asked them to copy paste them in the system. But with me, we used AI and my my goals are almost impossible to achieve. I don't think I shall get a good WHAT or HOW score even if I try too hard. And because the success of my goals is dependent on others, I am finding it hard to show that I am working harder than the colleagues with easier goals. Long story short, it feels like the new performance management makes it super easy for managers to give more bonus and salary appraisal to their friends. Is moving into another team my only choice? Are they really planning layoffs by giving bad scores? Some colleague was saying that a PiP means you don't even get severance and they can lay you off anytime. I can't ask my manager yet because she is very politik and cares more about networking than about our work. If the culture is only going to get worse I may even look for a job outside but there aren't many opportunities right now. I am based near Heidelberg in case that matters.
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Everything written here about managers is true, in my experience. Good advice!
@OP maybe I can share from a manager's perspective. No matter what anyone tells you, we have to work within an area level budget. So even if we aren't told to give certain ratings to our reports, there is an unwritten rule and 60% of employees should get the average rating, 20% should be seen as overperformers and 20% as underperformers Usually the different between overperformers and underperformers is not that big but it has a big impact on salaries and bonuses. Bonuses are 50% based on WHAT and HOW scores but in a year or two, this will be 100%. Our HR business partner talks about a future where salary appraisals and bonuses are completely controlled by only managers and HR. They are already trying to implement this using the current performance management system. There are times when our executives outright tell our management that we should save budget. This translates into worse ratings for everyone even if we want to give fair ratings. As managers, we only do what upper management and executives want. Remember that executives do not have these kind of ratings and they have a separate budget for their own salaries and bonuses. Their salaries are high and their salary increases and bonuses do not have a real cap. It is easier for SAP to give 2,05% instead of 2,25% to employees on an average and use that extra money to give a few millions to area executives and group executives. It's not fair but we are in the same position as you are. Finally it comes down to individual managers. SAP runs on favoritism and that plays a big role in these scores. Around 75% of the jobs that we post on the career portal are actually fake. We are forced to publish these jobs and conduct interviews before we can offer it to our preferred candidate. HR and works council mandates this but they don't want to improve this process for employees anyway. Good luck to your situation.
Whatever you do, do not let anyone know that you don't like your manager. If you do that, you're finished. SAP is one of those places where managers talk to each other and no one wants reports that complain. PiP and lower scores is evidence that the problem is not with the manager but with you. HR is only there to help managers exploit workers. And giving lower scores means that the Betriebsrat cannot help you anymore. If you are not a white German or European, just leave. We used to be better but the new SAP is intolerant towards anyone brown or black or Muslim. The level of hate I see towards these groups, especially amongst managers at our head office is unprecedented. There are better companies out there. And if you are German, do what your manager is doing. Praise her like she's a god and always tell her she is the best. Help her reach her goals even if they are just busy work. Give her good unfiltered scores because they are tracked and they know who gives bad scores. And become part of the club and then you are set for life. People who are part of the club never get laid off and on an average get a 10% more salary year on year through promotions and reorganisations.
@OP if you are already complaining about your manager, you don’t have the right attitude to be at SAP. SAP only allows growth for employees who are a hundred percent devoted to their managers and do everything they are asked to. Any deviation from this and your managers will not only give you less money year on year but also make your career at SAP a literal he-l. SAP is a manager centered company with a belief that management is more important than experts or developers. That’s because there have been times when we lay off employees to replace them with third party contractors and managers know best how to navigate through the HR intricacies and save our budget. They will always be seen as more important at SAP. Best if you find a job in another company.
There would be some chance if you were a woman and your manager a man. There are many female colleagues who have to flirt with their managers and respond when their managers flirt with them. They don’t necessarily have an affair but they end up getting higher pay rises compared to men. I know a colleague who babysits for her manager to keep a good rapport. There’s another who meets with her manager on 1:1 dates sometimes even though she has a boyfriend. She hates it but at SAP you have to do this for money. Performance Management at SAP is really broken because what you get as a pay rise or bonus rarely depends on the quality of work. It mostly depends on your rapport with your manager and how good their coffee was the morning they sent your scores. It completely depends on their mood and as an employee you have no way to contest really. That’s why we have so many star performers and average performers who don’t really do much work but only indulge in networking. One would think that HR wants to fix this but they’re only making matters worse with every new iteration of performance management. The comment about giving a higher unfiltered score to your manager may seem trivial but trust me, managers that get better scores tend to give more money to their reports. In many areas, managers and upper management already has a list of friends they want to promote and give more money to. It you’re not on the list, it’s hard to grow at SAP. The person who said that managers at SAP have too much power are unfortunately correct. I can’t wait to move to a real professional company that isn’t run by a bunch of old German men. But I have to wait for the market to get a bit better before I do. It’s a shame that Christian Klein wants to create such a bad company culture where friends promote each other and only the boys club grows to be powerful.
@OP I will try to move to another team ASAP, but just be aware that managers talk officially once you get an offer, and unofficially even before an offer is made, they will know you are seeking options outside. If you are not best friends with your current manager and she actually wants to harm you, then she will spread bad comments about you, and you will become not “hirable”. Important to notice that HR recruiters can see all the applications you have made, they also talk behind curtains and they will block you. If you really want to stay at SAP, move out of the team with care, and try to make it in good terms so that your current manager doesn’t get on your way.
Regarding PIP, there is the official one, where you are under evaluation and follows a standard procedure where you are informed and everything is documented, this has a requisite so must been notified of bad performance or actions before reaching this point. There is the unofficial PIP, you were not given any negative feedback or previous bad performance record, but still you are being put under pressure, that means with unrealistic goals to achieve and with micromanagement or excessive monitoring. When the manager follows the unofficial PIP, that means they want you gone and you need to move out ASAP to another team far away from the manager's network and influence.
One last thing, if you are under PIP, yes you won't get a good referral neither a severance.
I was in the second path, the unofficial PIP, and before me the manager did the official PIP to another colleague. This manager was getting rid of the ones that exhibit his incompetence.
SAP is a mafia, a bad one. If you are being blocked and have actions against you and behavioral patterns documented, I advice to seek legal support if you are anyway looking to leave the company.
@OP You mention Heidelberg so I think you are going to the Walldorf or Rot office. If you are not German, don't even bother. In the new SAP environment, even skilled immigrants have very little chance to grow, especially at the HO. Most managers based there are looking to just stick around for their retirement and they only care about their friends so they can promote each other. And sometimes they care about other Germans. This is literally 90% of the managers. And the new directive is that even for distributed teams, only German managers from HO are to be appointed now. You didn't mention your T level. Maybe try to move into a different team with a higher T level. Or change your location. If you can get a job like that, your manager will let you go without much trouble. Remember that managers talk to each other and every new manager has to get the old manager's feedback and approval to let you go. So be extremely good with your current manager and make up a good story like you're looking to learn more about that area or that you want a higher salary or T level. If your current manager wants to promote her two friends, she may block your move by citing business criticality because she needs "lower rated performers" like you to be able to give her friends more money. It's a bad situation either way so I hope you find a solution to this. Managers at SAP have too much power now. They literally control your entire career at SAP. And from your post, it seems that she is well connected. So best to play safe and move out asap.
Give your boss and the board good marks in the unfiltered survey.
Always do the needful.
(And if that does not help, change teams or leave SAP for greener pastures; sorry there is nothing else you can do.)