Founded by William R. Kelly in 1946, Kelly started life in Michigan providing office-based services. But we grew fast, soon expanding to support light industrial and electronic assembly staffing across the US. Over the past 75 years, our range of specialty solutions has evolved and today we support clients across nearly every industry and country around the world.
Today, Kelly is made up of five specialty business units – each focused on our clients’ and candidates’ unique needs. We partner with 75 of the Fortune 100 companies, supported by global talent experts and a wide-reaching supplier network.
We help bold companies and bright people connect to do great things. Our innovative workforce experts are committed to giving our candidates and clients the best possible experiences as we build industry-leading workforce solutions that help businesses meet their goals faster.
We also champion new and fairer ways of working. Our Equity@Work initiative knocks down unjust barriers to employment – because we believe more people deserve the opportunity to find meaningful work.
Kelly provides the world's best workforce solutions by going further for clients and candidates. We are authentic, the industry founder. We believe in relationships, not transactions and value teamwork, realising that we are stronger together than as individuals. We take the promises we make seriously. We are passionate, dedicated, and driven to excel. With us, it has never been about being the biggest. It has always been about being the best and doing the right thing.
At our core, we are a community. Each day we welcome into that community the varied talents of people who embrace our culture of service, teamwork, and integrity. We offer the opportunity to work with the best companies in the world, and to make a difference in the communities in which we live and work.
Across time zones, locations and languages, we’ve got this. We’ve been doing this for 76 years, after all and now across +60 countries.
William R. Kelly opens a service bureau in Detroit.
Sales exceed $1 million.
Kelly expands to place thousands each year in light industrial, marketing, and technical roles.
First European office opens in Paris, France.
Sales exceed $100 million.
Kelly has offices in all 50 states.
Sales exceed $1 billion.
Kelly is first listed on the Fortune 500®.
Establishes the industry’s first MSP program; now manages $7.2 billion in MSP spend.
Kelly opens 1,500th field office, and 500th Partnered Staffing office.
Kelly launches specialized lines: Kelly Engineering Resources, Kelly IT Resources, Kelly Healthcare Resources, and Kelly Educational Staffing.
Kelly acquires the Ayers Group™, a New York-based career management firm.
Kelly now operates in many countries and territories and realigns into three global regions.
One million workers are connected with employment opportunities through our staffing solutions and talent supply chain network of supplier partners.
Kelly acquires Teachers On Call®, expanding K-12 market presence.
Aligned with focusing on specialty solutions, Kelly Healthcare Resources is sold to InGenesis® and Kelly Legal Managed Services (KLMS) is sold to Trustpoint.One®.
Kelly expands engineering and telecom footprint with the acquisitions of Global Technology Associates, LLC and NextGen Global Resources, LLC.
Kelly transitions to a specialty talent company focused on five unique business units: Science, Engineering, Technology & Telecom; Education; Professional & Industrial; Outsourcing & Consulting; and International.
Kelly acquires Insight®, expanding its education specialty business. Greenwood/Asher & Associates is also acquired, moving Kelly® Education into the higher education space.
CEO Peter Quigley works to end systemic barriers to employment by unveiling a new company initiative, Equity@Work.
Kelly celebrates its 75th anniversary as a global workforce solutions company.
For a fourth consecutive year, Kelly is named to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index, scoring 100 on the annual assessment.
Kelly acquires technology staffing and solutions firm, Softworld — furthering the specialty strategy and growth of Kelly Science, Engineering, Technology & Telecom.
We’ve been recognised for our quality processes, management practices, supplier diversity, community involvement, and much more: