LAMDA's Successful Streamlining of Global Examination Operations with Freshdesk

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The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a prestigious drama school and a regulated awarding organization that offers globally recognized qualifications. The examinations department of LAMDA faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, LAMDA allowed customers to raise queries through tickets on the website or through phone calls. However, with the enforcement of lockdown and the shift to remote work, phone support had to be discontinued. This led to an exponential increase in the number of tickets coming in through Freshdesk, their customer support platform. Additionally, LAMDA had to transition from offline examination centres to online assessments, which led to a surge in queries about the new examination format and test requirements. The situation was further complicated by a reduction in the size of the customer service team due to the pandemic, resulting in each agent having to handle a significantly larger number of tickets.

The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is the oldest and most prestigious drama school in the UK, founded in 1861. LAMDA offers exceptional training to actors, technicians, stage managers, and directors. Some of its notable alumni include Richard Harris, Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Lithgow, and Benedict Cumberbatch, who is the current President of the institution. In addition to teaching acting and performing arts, LAMDA is a regulated awarding organization that offers courses and examinations in communication, performance, and musical theatre. Its qualifications are globally recognized. LAMDA's examinations department has three main customer groups: teachers and parents, over 185 independent examiners around the world, and LAMDA representatives who organize sessions on behalf of the school.

Despite the increased pressure, LAMDA's team was able to manage the higher number of tickets with Freshdesk. The platform's efficiency in routing tickets to the right department ensured quick and accurate resolution of customer queries. Following the success of the dedicated ticket-based system, LAMDA plans to add a 'Call Back' feature on the website to manage incoming customer calls. This feature will allow customers to request a phone call in the form of a ticket through Freshdesk, ensuring that the customer is put in touch with the right person. Freshdesk's features such as 'Merge Tickets', streamlined communication, and internal collaboration have been instrumental in maintaining the quality of customer service during the pandemic. LAMDA also plans to build a comprehensive knowledge base to answer frequently asked questions, which is expected to reduce the number of incoming tickets and improve the team's productivity.

• Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, LAMDA's support team was able to deliver stellar customer support. The 'Merge Tickets' feature on Freshdesk allowed the team to avoid duplication and efficiently manage related queries. The platform's ability to track every interaction with a customer helped avoid contradictions or repetitions in communication, providing a clearer audit trail. The internal collaboration feature facilitated the involvement of multiple departments in resolving a ticket, significantly reducing the average resolution time. As the team returns to the office, they plan to focus on improving the quality of support even further by analyzing reports and analytics on Freshdesk. With a reliable support solution as its backbone, LAMDA is now focusing on growth and is developing its exams database to increase efficiency and reach its pre-COVID growth rate.

• Significant reduction in the average resolution time of a ticket due to Freshdesk's internal collaboration feature.

• Exponential increase in the number of tickets managed through Freshdesk due to the discontinuation of phone support.

• Efficient handling of a larger number of tickets per agent due to the reduction in the size of the customer service team.