Penguin Random House’s move to drop degree requirements from its recruitment process was a “bold move” designed to challenge industry preconceptions as well as access a broader talent pool, the firm’s HR director says.

Speaking to Recruiter after the announcement this week, the publishing company’s group HR director Neil Morrison explained publishing, like the legal or financial industries, is regarded as a traditional professional industry.

“And with that comes perceptions of what it means to work there and what it means to get into it, and so I think that’s why making a public statement… is quite bold.”

The move is not about lowering standards or aiding a dwindling candidate pool – the company is “inundated with hugely talented people” – it is about accessing people who meet the firm’s standards but who are dissuaded by an arbitrary requirement placed on available jobs, he said. 

“We are about attracting the best talent, regardless of your background or where you come from.”

Last year, Penguin Random House launched an entry-level programme, The Scheme, which saw it put aside its traditional recruitment process and ask applicants to instead supply answers to seven strengths-based questions. 

Morrison said insight gleaned from The Scheme helped inform this most recent decision.

“Because we were able to see how candidates performed and how they tracked and what academic background they had, that led us to be clear that there wasn’t a direct correlation between educational level and performance.”

The new no degree requirement policy, effective immediately, applies to all roles across the UK business. Candidates for some departments – legal, for example – will be required to hold professional qualifications. 

“But most of them [professional qualifications] now have route to qualification that don’t require you to have a degree… and so the same rules apply [for the publisher] in relation to the degree requirement.”

He points out the company is not telling graduates to avoid applying, rather that applications from graduates and non-graduates alike will be welcomed and assessed on a level playing field. 

The move will, however, create more work for Morrison’s recruitment team, but he sees this as a good thing.

“Recruiting for potential and recruiting talent with a broader background is always harder than to apply very black and white criteria such as ‘must have a 2:1 degree’ so yes, it’s going to be harder. But in some ways, if that gives better results then it’s got to be worth the hard work.”

As well as running The Scheme again this year, Penguin Random House will also develop its work experience programme to make it more accessible, provide unconscious bias training for hiring managers and launch an outreach programme to tell the broader British community about the industry. 

• Want to comment on this story? The Comment box is at the bottom of the page. Sorry for the glitch but just scroll right down and share your opinions!