Case Study: USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism achieves 98% CSAT with Zendesk

The TechOps team at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism maintains a CSAT of 98%

USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism’s TechOps team supports more than 3,400 faculty, staff, and students across three buildings, including the cutting‑edge Wallis Annenberg Hall. As the facility and services expanded, the 27‑person team (plus student workers) found its old ad‑hoc request handling—emails, calls, and walk‑ins—unmanageable, making it difficult to track requests, measure workload, and keep customers informed.

In October 2015 the team implemented Zendesk Support and rolled it out before the spring semester; staff and student workers learned the system quickly and automations and triggers were put in place. Centralized ticketing and built‑in analytics improved communication, created a help center for common requests, revealed peak demand times for better staffing, and increased transparency around first response and resolution—helping TechOps maintain a 98% CSAT.

USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

James Vasquez

Associate Dean, Operations, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism