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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →SAP employees’ reported trust in the executive board fell to 59% in the company’s latest internal pulse survey, down six percentage points from April. Confidence in the company’s ability to execute its strategy fell to 70%, from 77%. The figures point to weaker employee confidence, but the available evidence does not establish that restructuring was the sole cause.
What changed in SAP’s latest employee pulse?
CIO reported on Dec. 3, 2025, that the latest internal pulse survey showed 59% trust in SAP’s executive board, six percentage points below April. Confidence in SAP’s execution of its strategy was 70%, compared with 77% in April. The report attributed the figures to an internal email from SAP Chief People Officer Gina Vargiu-Breuer that Bloomberg had seen.
SAP said the pulse survey had an 84% response rate among a workforce of more than 100,000 employees. That is a high participation rate, but the public reporting does not include the full questionnaire, the detailed methodology for the April comparison, or results by region and employee group. The figures should therefore be read as reported company-wide survey results, not as a complete picture of every employee’s experience.
How does the restructuring fit into the decline?
SAP announced a company-wide restructuring in January 2024. CIO reported that it affected 10,000 employees and was completed by early 2025. “Affected” does not mean that all 10,000 employees were laid off; the reported figure covers affected employees or roles.
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SAP’s 2024 Form 20-F says employee engagement, its Business Health Culture Index and Leadership Trust NPS declined amid several factors. SAP listed transformation and restructuring efforts, changes in hybrid-work guidance, and external influences beyond the company’s control. That account supports a connection between the period of organizational change and weaker employee measures, but it does not isolate restructuring as the cause of the later pulse results.
Gina Vargiu-Breuer’s reported email said, “The feedback shows that not every step [in the transformation] has landed how it should.” SAP separately told CIO that “the findings also clearly indicate that employee engagement and trust in the board require attention,” and said it was taking targeted action in response. CIO reported that SAP did not disclose details of those measures.
What the survey numbers do—and do not—measure
The 2025 pulse figures
The 59% board-trust figure and 70% strategy-execution figure are separate pulse-survey results reported for the latest survey, compared with April. They are not interchangeable with SAP’s annual Leadership Trust NPS or Employee Engagement Index.
SAP’s former Leadership Trust NPS
SAP’s #Unfiltered survey runs twice yearly. In 2024, the company surveyed employees in June and November and averaged the results for its full-year Employee Engagement Index and Leadership Trust NPS reporting. SAP defines Leadership Trust NPS as the percentage of promoters—respondents scoring 9 or 10 on a ten-point scale—minus the percentage of detractors—those scoring 1 through 6. Scores of 7 or 8 are passive and excluded; the possible range is −100 to +100.
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- Author: Bungay Stanier, Michael.
- Publisher: Page Two
- Pages: 244
- Publication Date: 2016-02-29
- Edition: 1
SAP’s 2025 Form 20-F says the last Leadership Trust NPS result was 68%, for 2024. The same filing reports a 2024 Employee Engagement Index of 74%; that is a broader engagement measure, not a leadership-trust score.
The replacement Leadership Index
In 2025, SAP replaced Leadership Trust NPS with a Leadership Index based on favorable responses to six questions about leadership philosophy and trust-related dimensions. SAP reported 89% favorable for the new index. That 89% should not be read as an improvement from 68%: the figures use different measures, and SAP says the old NPS was last measured in 2024.
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What employee concerns have been reported?
CIO quoted Greyhound Research chief analyst Sanchit Vir Gogia, who described employee concerns as confusion over new performance goals, insufficient support for implementing AI, unstable team dynamics, and too little time to learn. These are Gogia’s interpretations reported by CIO, not independently verified results from SAP’s survey. The public report does not provide the underlying questionnaire or data needed to establish how common those concerns were among respondents.
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How to interpret the trend
- Separate the metrics. Board trust, confidence in strategy execution, Leadership Trust NPS, Leadership Index and Employee Engagement Index measure different things.
- Compare like with like. Before treating two figures as a trend, check the measure, survey period, respondent population and methodology.
- Distinguish timing from proof of cause. The trust decline was reported after a major restructuring, and SAP named restructuring among several factors behind earlier declines. The available sources do not show that restructuring alone caused the change.
- Keep the response in perspective. SAP said it was taking targeted action, but the specific measures were not disclosed in CIO’s report.
Sources
- CIO, Lynn Greiner, Dec. 3, 2025: reported pulse results, SAP’s response and attributed analyst commentary.
- SAP SE 2024 Form 20-F: survey schedule, NPS definition and SAP’s account of factors associated with declining employee metrics.
- SAP SE 2025 Form 20-F: 2024 NPS result and the 2025 Leadership Index.
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