SANTA FE, N.M. – USA Today has announced that the New Mexico State Land Office has won a Top Workplaces USA award for midsize organizations (with between 150-499 employees) for the second year in a row. Over 2,220 organizations participated in anonymous employee surveys as part of the national challenge.
The State Land Office previously won a 2023 and 2024 Woman-Led Organizations Award as part of the Top Workplaces Culture Excellence national awards, given to outstanding organizations whose most senior leader is a woman. The agency was also awarded a 2023 and 2024 Regional Top Workplace by the Albuquerque Journal 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.
“Our employees deserve the recognition they’re getting because they do such amazing work on behalf of their fellow New Mexicans every day,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard. “I couldn’t possibly ask for a better staff. They are the reason we’ve been able to continually bring in record revenue for our public institutions. This new award recognizes the culture we’ve built here where we value each other and the lives we lead outside of work. We strive to create work-life balance and set about rightsizing employee salaries and benefits so everyone is fairly compensated. Employees have responded with the utmost professionalism and dedication to service. I am very proud of the fact that State Land Office employees love their jobs and the mission of serving our public schools and other institutions.”
Energage’s Top Workplaces Awards are based solely on employee feedback to an anonymous survey that measures 15 characteristics that are proven to predict high performance and are critical to the success of any organization.
According to the survey, 92% of employees would highly recommend working at the State Land Office. 94% of employees believe the agency operates by strong values, and 92% feel the agency prioritizes their well-being.
Over the past several years, Commissioner Garcia Richard has instituted agency-wide policies that invest in employees and promote fairness, including prioritizing diversity in leadership positions and correcting pay equity disparities. 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 $2.56 billion last year alone, as these cultural changes were implemented.
View the list of USA Today’s Top Workplaces USA Award winners here.
