SAP IMPACT – a career launchpad for MBA graduates

The year-long programme is designed to attract students from the world’s leading universities.

With advanced degrees becoming almost a prerequisite for leadership roles in today’s leading organisations, even seasoned executives are going back to school to earn their degrees. Having said that, MBA graduates, who have already made a significant investment in their future can now enhance their qualifications— with SAP taking the next step to complement their education with real-world experience.

As shared in an official blog, SAP has come up with a unique initiative — SAP IMPACT — a year-long programme designed to attract MBA graduates from the world’s leading universities. SAP will provide them with three 14-week rotation assignments in different parts of the company. Each year, a cohort of 10 individuals is selected for this unique opportunity to learn about SAP, while also presenting valuable insights and ideas back to their assigned teams and departments.

“Recruitment into the SAP IMPACT programme is incredibly selective, and involves more than your academic performance,” says Cindy Fediuk, talent leader, SAP MBA IMPACT programme. The programme looks at each candidate holistically, assessing how they might fit within a unit and within the larger organisation. “Then we work with you to build a unique programme schedule based on your goals, aspirations and skillset. The result is a programme built specifically for our shared value and mutual success,” she adds.

In a quest for fresh perspectives and approaches to the challenges affecting their business, many top executives at the company actively seek out the opportunity to work with IMPACT participants. In return, they offer invaluable guidance and mentorship built from their years of success. Hence, participants get to work closely with managers to define what success will look like during their time in the respective business areas. Managers provide open channels of communication and actionable feedback to help them achieve meaningful accomplishments that build on their unique skillset, providing depth to the principles learned during the MBA programme and adding value to the overall goals of the business area as well.

Every participant completes three 14-week rotations in different parts of the company, with available assignments in GCO, OCEO, corporate functions and P&I, including one rotation at one of their global locations. Moving through different business areas within SAP allows them to discover which department is best suited to their interest and skill set and also how the departments connect and collaborate to make SAP run simple.

With an objective to create a pipeline of innovative and creative problem-solving leaders and entrepreneurs at SAP, IMPACT is a unique way to get talent on board and even get them comfortable within their roles. The path the participants create in the IMPACT programme is part of a transition plan designed to ultimately place them in a permanent role at SAP, contributing to a business area based on their development goals, areas of interest, and performance throughout the programme.

IMPACT participants are put in the heart of the challenges facing SAP and its partners today. Participants work with SAP business teams on real projects, and their efforts affect real progress. Each year’s cohort also works on a group assignment, strengthening their collaborative relationship and ultimately resulting in valuable assets for the company.