Approximately 61 percent of the 382 community leaders responding to a recent telephone survey taken for the Laboratory indicated they had a favorable impression of the Lab, a number that increased from 52 percent the previous year.
The survey, conducted each fall for the past 11 years by Research and Polling Inc. in Albuquerque, also showed that when evaluated as a corporate citizen, community leader satisfaction with the Lab was at 54 percent this year, compared to 39 percent two years ago.
Survey results are used by Lab management to determine where its efforts in the community are succeeding, and where improvement is needed. Regional leaders from the professional fields of education, government, business, tribal, and special interest groups responded to the survey.
“The Laboratory and Los Alamos National Security, LLC have been working diligently to increase our effectiveness in the community and I believe some of the data indicate that we’re being successful,” said Kurt Steinhaus, Community Programs Office (CPO) director. “In fact, leaders’ satisfaction level with our efforts to respond to their perspectives and concerns is the highest it’s been in 10 years. We’ve implemented a number of initiatives to be better neighbors, including sponsoring the community leaders’ breakfasts, working to improve area economic development, supporting Lab employee volunteers, and making greater efforts to support local education.”
According to Steinhaus, business leaders are in the best position to provide input on how the Lab is working with businesses, and educators. “In fact, when it came to satisfaction with the Lab’s overall education programs, this same sector indicated that 93 percent of them were satisfied,” he said.
Steinhaus said there also was evidence of increased satisfaction with the Lab’s efforts to make a positive impact on economic development through Northern New Mexico Connect, a partnership between the Lab, LANS, and the Regional Development Corporation, The RDC, he said, was specifically mentioned as beneficial to local small businesses.
There also were improvements in the perceptions of Los Alamos’s involvement with charitable organizations, which rose to 81 percent this year, compared to a 74 percent satisfaction level last year. Satisfaction with employee contributions also increased to 70 percent this year from 65 percent in 2007.
The survey also revealed that improvement was needed in the areas of small business and communication. “There’s always more to do, but the first step is figuring out where you should direct your attention and not lose sight of what’s working well as you move forward,” said Steinhaus. I’m confident that we can improve satisfaction even more over time and our workforce is a big part of those efforts.”
The full survey results are here.
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