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Penguin Random House

Engaged employer

Long-time employee in IT Dept, - Anonymous employee Penguin Random House Employee Review

4.0
3 Jan 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good compensation & benefits. Flexible hours (though not in all departments). Working with cutting-edge technology and great people. Management is willing to try new things and pushes for innovation. The company size and market-dominant position (in book publishing) make the company very stable. Employees are proud to work here and are willing to push hard together for results.

Cons

Opportunities for advancement are limited (partly because of low turnover). Merit increases are rare; instead, most everyone gets a fixed increase annually (3%). Can be discouraging if you are a highly motivated employee wanting to contribute extra and get compensated extra. Patience is necessary.

Explore other reviews about Penguin Random House

5.0
20 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

• Caring people. Psychological safety is emphasized by people at every level. I feel like leadership at each step of the reporting chain is very approachable and transparent. • Great work/life balance. • There is a lot of openness to trying new technologies or doing different things for such a large and established organization. There is very little "trend chasing," it's more like you're listened to. As the CEO started out as a technologist, he has a realistic view of what new tools (including, but not just, AI) can do for us. • Informal, especially for a company created by the merger of two nearly-100 year old publishing firms and was recently acquired by a nearly-200 year old company. • Company supports learning and development. • Free books! • I care greatly about the company's mission and it's clear how my work impacts the company's ability to execute on it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

Cons

• Pay and insurance are very average, but I can live with that. This is a much bigger con for employees whose jobs require them to be on-site, especially in e.g. London and New York. • Said learning and development seem to have a ...deliberate pace. While this is fine and what I wanted, other tech people coming in from more "tech-y" organizations mightn't gel with it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

5.0
20 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great writing, Top tier production

Cons

The male director never asked me once how I was doing or offer any advice to calm my nerves (on my first production ever with them) which lead to a burdensome recording process.

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