Download DAN STRAYER: To set the scene here, talk about the

CASE STUDIES: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
COLLABORATED SINCE 2010
“It’s reached the point where they’ve come to expect us to find the right
candidates. They expect good things from us.”
Below is a November 2011 conversation about the wealth
of placements Arras People have made in the span of a
year-long relationship with Oxford University Press. Gary
Holmes is the consultant who has regularly worked with
Oxford University Press; he is interviewed by Arras’ PR
coordinator Dan Strayer.
DAN STRAYER (right): Talking about our project
management recruitment experience with Oxford University
Press, what can you tell me about the organisation and its
projects and programmes?
GARY HOLMES (left): Oxford University Press (OUP) is
affiliated with University of Oxford, and they issued their
first product in 1478, so they obviously go back quite a way
and have been established for a number of centuries. Right up to today, their
affiliation with University of Oxford has been the foundation for their success. They’re a company that are
constantly growing, and are at the forefront of development and innovation within the publishing industry as
a whole. Over the past year since I’ve been working with them, OUP are really driving forward the digital
publishing arm of their business.
DS: So what are the key areas that OUP have been looking to develop further during your relationship with
them?
GH: One of the biggest areas of development is within online course material. One of the major divisions in
OUP is the Digital Media Group, which is primarily focused on development of online course material in areas
such as English language teaching. What people may not know about OUP is that they have a lot of
businesses all over the world, and they tend to franchise a lot of their business overseas. A hefty proportion
of their sales in online courses (such as English language teaching) are made in China, funnily enough India is
one of their bigger markets at present. So that’s mostly what I’m tasked with: finding project professionals to
slot into that digital media environment and that can be permanent or contract staff.
DS: What makes the study of our work with OUP so interesting is that there isn’t a particular focus on merely
one placement with them. It turns out that we’ve had a long chain of success with them. Contracts,
permanent placements, extensions - the statistics are very strong. Talk about why Oxford University Press
turns to us for their project management recruitment needs.
CASE STUDIES: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
COLLABORATED SINCE 2010
GH: One of the interesting things when they first came to me that I learned was that they tended to do their
own recruitment. They seemed to know who was out there and available in the marketplace. Their routes to
the market had become saturated by the time they came to me however. In the first role I signed on to do
for them, they needed a quick turnaround, focusing on the area of developing online content within the
English language teaching division. They came to Arras because they appreciated the project management
recruitment experience and specialist focus we have in this area. As the relationship has developed over
time, we’ve provided more of a consultative approach. Given the in-depth and varied approaches I use to
source candidates at Arras, we’ve been able to provide greater feedback in terms of who’s available in the
market on the publishing side at any one given time. I’m also able to give benchmarking data which helps a
company like OUP understand more about current market rates for the roles they are recruiting for.
When we first started, we focussed on our one core contact at OUP; now, as time has progressed, I’ve
expanded my contact base across the organisation to the point where we have 4 to 5 good contacts that can
come to us when they need help.
DS: I find the variety of challenges you’ve been able to meet in placing candidates with Oxford University
Press over the duration of your working with them fascinating.
GH: Oh, definitely. We’ve really spread into a lot of different areas, though the focus forever remains
primarily on project-roles. Project managers, PMO analysts, producers - we’ve spread out into a variety of
areas, though we’re still honed in on the core digital
media group, which is quite an innovative area.
Recruitment has also gone up to programme
management level as well. All the roles present
different challenges and we’ve developed a good
understanding of the technical / IT skill sets they tend to
look for. We appreciate some of the areas they tend to
need expertise in.
DS: The publishing world is strong in the Oxford area. Is
it mostly from that location that you pick candidates
from, or do you go outside that region to get the people
you’re looking for?
GH: A little of both. Although the publishing community around Oxford is tight-knit, the digital publishing
factor takes our search nationwide, because the skill-set exists nationwide. For contract roles especially,
people who live further afield enjoy living and working in Oxford. They see the benefits of working for OUP
on a short term contract in terms of what it will add to their career profile. I have a nationwide candidate
database of publishing related project professionals to draw upon.
DS: Another thing that’s fascinating in your work with OUP is that when you think of Oxford, you think of this
seat of higher learning. But when it comes to modern publishing and the specialisms like digital media and
related platforms, it’s the expertise that is carrying the day in terms of the personnel.
GH: I think that’s one of the great things about OUP, and indicative of the digital publishing industry as a
whole. It’s very forward thinking and innovative with a focus
CASE STUDIES: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
COLLABORATED SINCE 2010
on getting growth into the industry. And it’s really nice to see, especially in the current climate, that an
organisation of this magnitude views this as an important undertaking. They should do, because it’s
happening in every facet of the industry across the board. Talking about digital publishing, it’s a very
interesting time in terms of where it’s going to develop from here. Within the digital media division at OUP,
they’ve got a specific arm dedicated to innovation and technology in the methods they’re going to employ in
the next few years, complete with investment in those kinds of programmes and projects. So that level of
commitment is great to see.
DS: The statistics we’ve put up since we began working with OUP in 2010 are quite stellar, aren’t they?
GH: Indeed. Arras has made 19 successful placements to date stretching from contracts to permanent
placements. Our first placement initially began as a contract assignment, but the candidate was so successful
that after 12 months in the role he was offered a permanent post which he accepted. We’re continually
working with other areas of the OUP business and building solid relationships. Indeed, within the arm of
business where we made our first placement, the trust level is such that on the past couple of occasions we
have only had to send one or two candidates over in order to make a placement. Of course, a lot of this trust
comes from the increased knowledge we have built up, enabling us to really narrow a shortlist down to the
top candidates.
DS: This is a short time that we’ve reached that level of trust.
GH: Yeah, that’s just where we are at this point. Meeting with their head of global recruitment to get a
better feel for the culture of the organisation and understanding how they work certainly help in trust
building. Those meetings have really helped our collaboration in recruitment with Oxford University Press.
The feedback is always positive whenever we place someone with them. It’s reached the point where
they’ve come to expect us to supply them with the right candidates. They expect good things from us.
About Arras People
Arras People is the UK’s specialist project & programme management recruitment agency for any of your
PPM recruitment needs and advisement. With a staff of consultants possessing first-hand career experience
in the fields of project management, programme management, portfolio management and project office
support, Arras People can provide clients and candidates alike with an unrivalled & reliable project
recruitment service.
Contact Arras People today to see how we can work with you on your next project management recruitment
requirements. Talk to Gary Holmes directly about project management recruitment in the digital publishing
sector.
http://www.arraspeople.co.uk/contact-arras/
Arras House | 47 York Street | Heywood | Greater
Manchester | OL10 4NN
CASE STUDIES: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
COLLABORATED SINCE 2010
Tel: 0845 680 6444