State Land Office Named a Top Workplace by the Albuquerque Journal for 2nd Consecutive Year
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Agency ranked 2nd among all midsize employers in state
State Agency Press Release – From the New Mexico State Land Office
SANTA FE, N.M. – The Albuquerque Journal has announced that the New Mexico State Land Office has won a Top Workplaces award, ranking 2nd among midsize employers – organizations with between 150-499 employees – New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard announced today. It marks the 2nd consecutive year the State Land Office has been named a Top Workplace, ranking 1st in 2023. In survey responses, employees consistently used words like “inclusive” and “supportive” to describe the agency.
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The State Land Office won the Top Workplaces USA Award from USA Today in March 2024. Over 2,220 organizations participated in anonymous employee surveys as part of the national contest.
The State Land Office was the only organization from New Mexico to rank in the top 25, regardless of size or sector. The agency was the top ranked government agency in its category.
The State Land Office also previously won a Woman-Led Organizations Award as part of the October 2023 Top Workplaces Culture Excellence national awards, given to outstanding organizations whose most senior leader is a woman.
The agency qualified for each award after it was named the #1 Midsize Employer by the Albuquerque Journal in June 2023 as part of Energage’s annual Top Workplaces Awards. Energage is a human resources and technology research company that partnered with both USA Today on the national award and the Albuquerque Journal on the regional award.
“We keep breaking records in terms of revenue earned and other benchmarks, and that’s only possible because we have the best staff in all of New Mexico,” said Commissioner Garcia Richard.
“When I came into office, one of my first priorities was to make things fair for employees across the board. That commitment still continues through rigorous reviews of personnel to ensure employees are being fairly compensated for their work, closing unjustified pay gaps related to experience level, gender, education, and more.
“We also know that our employees have lives outside of their work space, and we need to honor and respect that by providing true work-life balance. Our employees know that we value their commitments to their families, and it reflects in the great work they do on a daily basis. I couldn’t wish for a better group of people to work with.”
Energage’s Top Workplaces Awards are based solely on employee feedback to an anonymous survey that measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization, including alignment, execution and connection.
91% of State Land Office employees took the 2024 Energage survey. The agency ranked in the top 5% in the State Government category for work-life flexibility, meaningful work, employee appreciation, inclusion and confidence in leadership.
Other survey results include:
- The agency ranked in the top 1% within the government sector for employee’s willingness to refer others to work at the State Land Office.
- 94% of employees believe we operate by strong values.
- 90% of employees are happy with their work-life flexibility.
- The agency is in the top 9% within the government sector for providing an inclusive environment for all employees.
- The agency is in the top 1% within the government sector for cooperation between internal departments.
Over the past several years, Commissioner Garcia Richard has instituted agency-wide policies that invest in employees and promote fairness, including correcting pay equity disparities, hiring and promoting diverse candidates to leadership positions, offering remote work up to three days a week, and much more.
The State Land Office’s mission is to earn money for schools and other public institutions by responsibly leasing state lands for energy production, commercial development, and agriculture, among other uses.
The State Land Office continued to earn record-breaking revenue every year since 2019, exceeding $2.75 billion last year alone, as these cultural changes were implemented.
View the list of USA Today’s Top Workplaces USA Award winners here.