Using the example of our charitable foundation ( SAP is a partner of the charitable foundation “Arithmetic of Good”), I would like to show how we solve three tasks that are very important to us.

The first task is corporate social responsibility (CSR). We feel responsible for the youth, for the new generation – how they will integrate into our new changing world, into the new economy, which is all stitched with digital technologies. It is important for us that young people have equal educational opportunities. And here, together with the Arithmetic of Good Foundation, we are solving a specific problem: access to education, including higher education.

The second important thing for us. Our clients are the largest Russian corporations, and we ourselves are clients of very large companies. We have a huge pool of contractors and many partners. It is important for us to build loyal and trusting relationships within this system. And if our brand says that we change the world with the help of technology, then there should be events where you can touch it with your hands and change something for the better together. For the fourth year in a row, our clients, partners, and contractors have been coming to our race (SAP has been holding charity races together with Arithmetic of Good since 2015 – Vedomosti); they run in T-shirts saying “I am running with SAP”, “I am helping children with SAP”, and for us this is an invaluable thing in terms of relationships.

LLC "SAP CIS"

Software developer. The first office of the German SAP SE was opened in Moscow in 1992. The company develops enterprise resource planning systems (ERP systems). Owner – SAP SE (100%). Financial indicators (2017): revenue – RUB 32 billion, net profit – RUB 382.8 million.

In this regard, I will tell you one story. Our employee from the sales department had been preparing a large and very expensive deal for a long time. And when the company's CEO was already raising the pen to sign the contract, he asked: "But SAP does something in CSR and charity? Do you know what your company does?" The young man did not lose his head, the deal ended with the signing. This case has almost become a legend for us. Dialogue between companies is a little more than just selling to each other. We no longer ask each other: do you do charity? The conversation now is about what exactly you do, how and why. And sometimes interesting joint projects are born. Therefore, not only selling, but also doing good, useful things together is important for our brand.

And the third thing, which is very important for me personally. For us, CSR and charity are related to the engagement department, where we work on motivating employees, on their loyalty to our HR brand. We also do all our charity projects there. Our charity run is a powerful tool for developing engagement. Once a year, people - top managers, regular employees, their children, their relatives, neighbors - come to this charity run to do a good deed, and do sports, and relax, and socialize. We also instill a culture of volunteerism in every possible way, and this run is a huge volunteer opportunity. The number of employees participating in organizing the run is growing every year: they work at the administration desks, look for partners for fundraising, create an entertainment program for the children of employees. In addition, we ourselves, as a company, support sports in every possible way, and supporting a sports movement with a charitable focus is very, very cool.

The text was prepared based on the materials of the XV annual conference "Charity in Russia"

Engagement Department Affairs