About Kelly

Connecting great people with great work. 

About Kelly

Connecting great people with great work. 

Our story. 

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.

A pioneering workforce partner.

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.

Authentic. Passionate. Driven.

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.

Our values.

  • We are personally responsible for our actions, outcomes, and reputation.
  • We build strong relationships and create Kelly advocates for life.
  • We own and resolve customer and candidate issues with urgency.
  • We treat every customer, employee, and supplier with respect and integrity.
  • We continuously seek opportunities to innovate and improve the Kelly experience.

Recruitment, wherever, whenever. 


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.

Our journey.

Explore how we’ve grown.

1946

William R. Kelly opens a service bureau in Detroit.

1953

Sales exceed $1 million.

1960s

Kelly expands to place thousands each year in light industrial, marketing, and technical roles.

1972

First European office opens in Paris, France.

1973

Sales exceed $100 million.

1979

Kelly has offices in all 50 states.

1986

Sales exceed $1 billion.

1995

Kelly is first listed on the Fortune 500®.

1996

Establishes the industry’s first MSP program; now manages $7.2 billion in MSP spend.

1997

Kelly opens 1,500th field office, and 500th Partnered Staffing office.

1999

Kelly launches specialized lines: Kelly Engineering Resources, Kelly IT Resources, Kelly Healthcare Resources, and Kelly Educational Staffing.

2006

Kelly acquires the Ayers Group™, a New York-based career management firm.

2007

Kelly now operates in many countries and territories and realigns into three global regions.

2015

One million workers are connected with employment opportunities through our staffing solutions and talent supply chain network of supplier partners.

2017

Kelly acquires Teachers On Call®, expanding K-12 market presence.

2018

Aligned with focusing on specialty solutions, Kelly Healthcare Resources is sold to InGenesis® and Kelly Legal Managed Services (KLMS) is sold to Trustpoint.One®.

2019

Kelly expands engineering and telecom footprint with the acquisitions of Global Technology Associates, LLC and NextGen Global Resources, LLC.

2020

Kelly transitions to a specialty talent company focused on five unique business units: Science, Engineering, Technology & Telecom; Education; Professional & Industrial; Outsourcing & Consulting; and International.

2020

Kelly acquires Insight®, expanding its education specialty business. Greenwood/Asher & Associates is also acquired, moving Kelly® Education into the higher education space.

2020

CEO Peter Quigley works to end systemic barriers to employment by unveiling a new company initiative, Equity@Work.

2021

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.

Awards and recognition.

We’ve been recognised for our quality processes, management practices, supplier diversity, community involvement, and much more:


Intel Corporation’s Certified Supplier Quality Award

Johnson & Johnson’s Supplier Diversity Partnership Award

Sara Lee Corporation’s Outstanding Service and Support Award

American Red Cross/Southeast Michigan Corporate Citizen Award

Michigan Minority Business Development Council’s “Corporation of the Year”

Fortune Magazine’s “Most Admired Companies” list

Workforce Magazine’s “80 People, Events & Trends that Shaped HR”

IAOP Global Outsourcing 100® list

Inavero's Best of Staffing® Client Award

Inclusive Employer 2021​

Best HR Supplier 2023
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