Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba to overhaul employee ranking system, including removal of categories for senior roles, as group’s restructuring continues

Alibaba Group Holding, which is restructuring its US$257 billion empire, is looking to overhaul its internal employee ranking system – widely copied by Chinese tech start-ups – by adding more layers, prolonging the promotion timeline of mid-level personnel and removing the P9 and above categories for senior roles, according to multiple sources.

A job ranked P9 within Alibaba, or other mainland technology companies with a different code but on the same compensation level, has become the career target for millions of young Chinese professionals in the industry. Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, does not disclose how many of its employees are ranked P9 and above, but two sources in the firm said that number made up 1 to 2 per cent of its total workforce.

Plans to remove that ranking and to implement other changes in the Chinese tech conglomerate’s employee grading system could send shock waves across other organisations in its industry, which Beijing sees as essential to creating jobs and fuelling the country’s economic growth.

The planned overhaul in employee rankings is expected to motivate senior employees to continue contributing, instead of resting on their laurels, according to Max Xiao Mafeng, co-founder and partner at recruitment agency TTC Consultancy. He said the changes could provide more incentives for lower-ranked employees to get promoted.

Employees at the Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, which will the only one of six business units to remain wholly owned by Hangzhou-based Alibaba after the restructuring, have widely discussed the plans to remove the organisation’s P-ranking system, according to sources.