Manhattan Legacy Service is tapping into retirees to solve the biggest workforce hurdles
A women-owned Oak Ridge staffing firm turned the region's retiring workforce into a national security asset. This summer, that business turns 10.
When seasoned engineers, energy specialists, and waste-management experts leave Oak Ridge’s high-security facilities, decades of hard-won knowledge can walk out the door with them. Diana West saw that gap and saw a workforce hiding in plain sight: retirees.
West spent her career at Y-12 National Security Complex under Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) before retiring and cycling through three subcontracting firms. She has 50 years of experience in the nuclear management field and is deeply knowledgeable about federal missions in East Tennessee.
She had never considered starting a business until someone floated her an idea.
“I realized, oh, this is something I can do, and I can be really good at,” said West, founder and CEO of Manhattan Legacy Service (MLS).
Launching a business with a specific mission
She launched MLS in August 2016 to bridge the knowledge gaps left behind by retiring experts in critical, high-security industries. The model was straightforward and, at the time, largely untapped. Her goal was to bring experienced people back on terms that fit the next stage of their lives.
“Through my connections with other retirees, I was able to bring in people who wanted to continue working on a part-time basis,” she said.
These returning retirees could mentor on projects and train staff across parts of the business. Or, they could serve as security or escorts for certain projects, campuses, or events.
A couple of years in, MLS landed a contract with UT-Battelle, the partnership that manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
“The majority of our people are retirees from either CNS or UT-Battelle, so they are familiar with the topics,” West said. “They knew how to work the areas. They knew the people.”
That roster of available staffers now stands at 57.
Winning ORNL’s Small Business of the Year
This year, in line with the business’s 10th anniversary, MLS was named as one of ORNL’s Small Business Partners of the Year for its staffing support on the BRIAR biometrics project, which studied how to identify people from extreme distances and from elevated or drone-mounted cameras.
“This was a special contract in which we had employees who traveled out of state,” West said. “Our team worked with UT-Battelle on a digital imaging project.”
For West, the award reflected what the company set out to do from the start.
“Our mission is a service organization,” she said. “We want to be able to supply what the facility needs as far as people, regardless of what their need is.”
And that value is hard to replicate.
“We bring to the table an experience and knowledge that is legacy,” said Miriam McKim, the company’s business manager. “That is extremely important for the national security mission.”
Identifying the next gap: new graduates
Having built its workforce on one end of the career arc, MLS is now eyeing the other side of the spectrum. The company wants to partner with area community colleges to staff Oak Ridge’s growing advanced energy, innovation, and defense industries.
The goal is to continue growing, but in a way that the community deeply needs and wants.
“When I came on in 2022, we had right about 30 employees. We have now grown to nearly 60,” McKim said. “We basically doubled in about three years. For a small company to double in three years, that’s pretty good!”
Ten years down (and many more to go)
This August, MLS celebrates its 10th anniversary in business.
“I’m just so pleased with the way the business has grown and the reputation that we have as a company,” West said.
When asked about the things she is most proud of in these past 10 years, West didn’t hesitate to answer.
Our people. We have the best employees, and we care about them professionally and personally. We celebrate their accomplishments, and we really are proud of every little thing they do.
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