Amanda LaGanga, HR director of contingent workforce, refers to herself as a Verizon “lifer.” While she spent much of her 21-year tenure at the company doing benefits design and administration, she was chosen two years ago to lead Verizon’s mature contingent workforce program that spans across 17 countries with over $1 billion in spend across time and materials plus statement of work.

In May 2021, after launching a pilot to hire 75 seasonal employees in its retail stores, her team was asked to expand it to hire approximately 1,500 seasonal workers. LaGanga orchestrated a recruitment and staffing workflow to quickly ramp up and deliver candidates in volume while also remaining compliant and within budget — successfully delivering around 1,200 contingent workers for Verizon retail during the 2021 holiday season, approximately 10% of whom immediately transitioned to FTE roles.

Passionate about augmenting Verizon’s contingent workforce program DE&I strategy, she orchestrated Verizon’s first DE&I Supplier Summit in July 2022 — a great opportunity for the company to get in front of its contingent labor suppliers.

“The suppliers were very receptive, and I believe that we are on a whole new trajectory,” LaGanga says. “I’m very excited about what the next 12 to 18 months are going to look like.”