For team players, casino antes up a family aura
Santa Ana Star Casino has graced the list of New Mexico’s Top Workplaces for five consecutive years, this year earning the No. 1 spot among the top five large companies for 2017.
It’s an honor that casino management and staff now strive for as a team every year, said Human Resources Director James Stevens.
“It’s helped unify us,” Stevens said. “It’s become our goal to stay strong and keep trying for the No. 1 spot year after year.”
Employees say it’s that team mentality that makes Santa Ana such a great place to work, a place where everyone feels support and respect no matter their position or the department they work in.
“It’s refreshing that we are supported by upper management and our ideas are heard,” one employee said. “We are appreciated. We treat each other with respect and that starts from the top.”
Many said being a part of Santa Ana feels like having a “second family.”
“When you find yourself in a difficult situation, there are other people who will support you and help you succeed using their experiences,” said another employee. “With all of us working toward a common goal, it makes you feel like anything is possible.”
The casino’s executive
leadership sees those values as part of its operational paradigm, one that emphasizes the contributions of every team member and that casts each person’s role as important and necessary, according to a statement from the casino.
That’s hard to do in a large corporation like Santa Ana, which employs 606 people full time. Apart from the gambling venue — which includes 1,400 slot machines, 26 table games, and video poker — the casino also offers three restaurants, Starlight Bowling and a performance center.
It offers a full slate of benefits, including medical, vision, dental, life and accidental life insurance, plus a 401(k) profit-sharing plan for both full- and part-time workers. All team members also get a free meal for each full shift, access to a fitness program that pays a $10 incentive per month for participants, eight paid holidays and two weeks of paid time off for maternity leave.
The casino’s central mission is to help Santa Ana Pueblo, with hiring preference given to tribal members to provide more employment opportunities in an environment sensitive to their cultural needs. Santa Ana members get paid administrative leave for events and observances, helping to encourage and preserve tribal culture.
“I am helping make a difference for the Santa Ana Pueblo and my family,” said one employee.
“I am part of a bigger vision for the growth and betterment of the pueblo,” said another.
Camaraderie is built into the hiring process, with care, courtesy, attitude, respect and enthusiasm emphasized as core values, Stevenson said. And management and staff celebrate those values with many team member appreciation events and get-togethers throughout the year.
“We focus on friendly personalities as a good cultural fit,” Stevens said. “Our people make all the difference.”