The story
Founded by William Russell Kelly in 1946.1
Founded in 1946 by William Russell Kelly, the company was originally named Russell Kelly Office Service. Services were provided in-house at the Kelly office. However, as customer offices grew and needed more resources, they began to ask for the Kelly employees to perform the work at their own offices. Temporary workers from Russell Kelly Office Service, often women, soon became known as ‘Kelly Girls’. Adelaide Hess Moran, the first Kelly temporary employee to work at a customer’s office, was promptly dubbed the first ‘Kelly Girl’.
The company name was changed to Kelly Girl Service, Inc. in 1957. Eventually "Kelly girl" became a widely used term for a temporary worker, regardless of company affiliation or gender. By 1966, the company had expanded to include industrial and technical services divisions and was renamed Kelly Services, Inc.
In 2008, Lynn Noyes was awarded $6.5 million in damages from Kelly Services for failing to promote her because she was not part of the Fellowship of Friends cult.
In 2015, the company reported 8,100 employees, $5.5 billion in revenue, making it one of the world's largest staffing firms. In 2018, the company reported $5.5 billion in revenue.
As of 2019, the CEO is Peter Quigley.
In May 2024, Kelly Services acquired Motion Recruitment Partners for $425 million in cash.
From Wikipedia’s article on Kelly Services, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7