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> According to the report, a total of 5,300 SAP employees have applied for the programs. That would be more than 20 percent of the Group's entire German workfor

> According to the report, a total of 5,300 SAP employees have applied for the programs. That would be more than 20 percent of the Group's entire German workforce. However, only 3200 of these employees are said to be over 55 years old and therefore eligible for early retirement. Isn't there some concern that they're letting go of a lot of knowledge with these older employees? Tribal knowledge isn't a problem that effects them? The more cynical side of me thinks that it's going to be quite a mess for those who remain.

javchz 2y ago
Agree. A lot of non documented processes lives only in the heads of certain people. I remember conversations like "you know how to access the server? ssh it's not working" "Oh yeah about that, ask Josh in the 3rd floor, he knows how to deal with it, requieres an extra step, and nobody had the time to fix the confluence article" Then Josh gets layoff or changes jobs and the rest of the team has to deal with it. Good luck for those who remain.
ein0p 2y ago
Happens all the time, everywhere, just not all at once. People move around every 2-3 years or so, and take their knowledge, such as it is, with them.
- swatcoder 2y ago
  Not really. There's basically a certain swath of people who "move around every 2-3 years or so" and a bunch of people who don't. The latter are the ones that carry institutional knowledge as the team around them rotates. They tend to earn less but carry more influence, loyalty, and political insight. A big and indiscriminate purge/flight that includes those people can powerfully disrupt that and cause major damage to organizations and teams. I don't know that that's happening here, but the grandparent is right to be curious.
  - ein0p 2y ago
    I’ve yet to see people lacking in ambition gain much influence or political insight in my 25 years in tech. And not even once have I seen loyalty rewarded.
    - swatcoder 2y ago
      Well, I don't know where your comment about ambition relates to what I said, but otherwise I hope that experience changes for you. That's a long time to be lost in what seems a lonely desert.
    - harshalizee 2y ago
      I don't know how you managed to equate it to ambition. But for what it's worth, the people I've seen climb to apex positions -- Principal Engg, Architect, Director, etc. tend to be the ones that stayed at the same company for a long time. They tend to have substantial amount of influence that even the higher ups didn't.
      - ein0p 2y ago
        I’m a former startup exec and currently a principal engineer. The easiest way to get to where I am is by moving around every 2-3 years, at least within the company (if the company is large enough), but preferably across companies. The best time to move is immediately after a promo. Do not let people treat you like a piece of furniture that’s not going anywhere

javchz 2y ago

Agree. A lot of non documented processes lives only in the heads of certain people. I remember conversations like "you know how to access the server? ssh it's not working" "Oh yeah about that, ask Josh in the 3rd floor, he knows how to deal with it, requieres an extra step, and nobody had the time to fix the confluence article" Then Josh gets layoff or changes jobs and the rest of the team has to deal with it. Good luck for those who remain.

ein0p 2y ago

Happens all the time, everywhere, just not all at once. People move around every 2-3 years or so, and take their knowledge, such as it is, with them.

swatcoder 2y ago
Not really. There's basically a certain swath of people who "move around every 2-3 years or so" and a bunch of people who don't. The latter are the ones that carry institutional knowledge as the team around them rotates. They tend to earn less but carry more influence, loyalty, and political insight. A big and indiscriminate purge/flight that includes those people can powerfully disrupt that and cause major damage to organizations and teams. I don't know that that's happening here, but the grandparent is right to be curious.
- ein0p 2y ago
  I’ve yet to see people lacking in ambition gain much influence or political insight in my 25 years in tech. And not even once have I seen loyalty rewarded.
  - swatcoder 2y ago
    Well, I don't know where your comment about ambition relates to what I said, but otherwise I hope that experience changes for you. That's a long time to be lost in what seems a lonely desert.
  - harshalizee 2y ago
    I don't know how you managed to equate it to ambition. But for what it's worth, the people I've seen climb to apex positions -- Principal Engg, Architect, Director, etc. tend to be the ones that stayed at the same company for a long time. They tend to have substantial amount of influence that even the higher ups didn't.
    - ein0p 2y ago
      I’m a former startup exec and currently a principal engineer. The easiest way to get to where I am is by moving around every 2-3 years, at least within the company (if the company is large enough), but preferably across companies. The best time to move is immediately after a promo. Do not let people treat you like a piece of furniture that’s not going anywhere