Minneapolis agency Periscope has implemented a round of furloughs across the agency.
“We are working in this new environment differently to serve our clients while keeping our people and company safe. This includes a Covid-19 temporary furlough program in which employees may be furloughed for a period of time in order to strengthen and protect the agency’s future while still allowing us to continue delivering great results for our clients uninterrupted,” a Periscope representative said in a statement. “We’re confident these changes will deliver against the existing needs of our clients while giving us flexibility for still unforeseen issues.”
Staggered furloughs were implemented across the agency, with few exceptions, in mid-March for a period of three months, with employees being asked to rotate a week of furloughs every fourth week, a source with knowledge of the agency’s operations told AgencySpy. Periscope also instituted a series of salary cuts, the source added.
Periscope is also pivoting resources based on client demands. Notably, client demand for strategic guidance has led the agency to grow its strategy department, including the recent hire of Nathan Young as group strategy director.
Young is expanding Periscope’s primary research capabilities and leading the agency’s Covid-19 response team, including ramping up research to provide clients with reports and road maps for navigating the emotional impact of the coronavirus pandemic on American consumers.
“In the past two weeks alone, we have kick-started seven new projects based off of insights from original consumer research,” Young said in a statement. “Periscope is committed to being a leader in the industry’s response to Covid-19 and will be releasing unique thought leadership content and reports on a steady clip over the coming weeks.”
Periscope began the year with a round of layoffs impacting around 3% of staff, following a similar round of layoffs in March 2019. The agency was acquired by Wisconsin-based printing company Quad/Graphics in November 2018.