In October 1946, with an office in Detroit, Michigan, and two employees, William Russell Kelly started a new company to meet the office and clerical needs of Detroit-area businesses. "Russell Kelly Office Service" provided calculating and inventory services, typing and copying. Most of this work was cyclical, so Mr. Kelly staffed his company with housewives and students -- people who had flexible schedules. By December of 1946, the Russell Kelly Office Service had 12 customers and $848 in sales.

At first, customers sent their work to Mr. Kelly's office. As customers gained confidence in the new company, some of them asked him to send his employees to their offices to type, file or operate business machines.

Soon, dozens of customers wanted Kelly employees to work in their offices, often on short notice.

Mr. Kelly recognized that lending his employees to his customers might have potential as a new service he could add to his business.

He decided to hire people with proven office skills, ready to work when his customers' employees were out on vacation or because of illness. By the end of 1947, temporary help was an important part of the company's business. Russell Kelly Office Service had grown to 100 employees. Mr. Kelly's development of this new type of service -- creating a pool of people with a variety of office skills to provide temporary help for offices -- marked the beginning of the modern temporary staffing services industry.

Kelly temporary employees were soon in great demand. In 1954, the first office opened outside of Michigan, in Louisville, Kentucky. By 1955, the company had 35 branch offices throughout the United States. Two years later, the company changed its name to Kelly Girl Service, Inc. During the 1960s, The Kelly Girl® became a nationwide icon, synonymous with high-quality temporary employees.

50 Years of Quality Service

Companies realized that using reliable temporary employees made good business sense. Temporary employees fit their business cycles, working during peak periods and on large projects, and filling in at vacation time. Temporary employees, especially women, discovered a good way to find work for short periods of time.

Soon, Kelly Services was called upon to provide employees with other capabilities, in addition to office skills. The company expanded its services to include marketing, light industrial and technical areas.

To meet the demand for these new services, the number of locations grew rapidly. By the end of 1964, the company had opened 169 offices in 44 states.

In 1966 the company changed its name to Kelly Services, Inc., reflecting the increasing variety of its services, customers and employees.

Quality has been a fundamental value of Kelly Services since the company's founding. Every temporary employee was "Tested, Bonded, Insured and Guaranteed!" Mr. Kelly stood behind this guarantee. If a customer was dissatisfied with the work of a Kelly employee, no bill was sent, even though the employee was paid.

This commitment to quality was also evident in employee testing and training. The company developed the nation's first short typing tests, so that every employee could be evaluated before assignment. In the 1970s and 1980s, computer technology became increasingly important in the office. Kelly was the first temporary staffing company to develop training and testing on word processors.

A custom-built testing and training computer was installed in every Kelly office. This expertise has led to the development of PinPoint®, our current state-of-the-art teaching and testing software using concurrent, CD-ROM technology.

The company has been recognized many times by customers, community organizations and the business press for its workplace diversity, quality processes, community involvement and management practices. In recent years these awards included: "Best Business Services Company for the 1990s," Forbes magazine; Ford Motor Company's Q1 Preferred Quality Award; Chrysler Corporation's Quality Excellence Award; Xerox Certified Supplier Award; and Kraft Food's first annual Rick Stuedemann Award for Supplier Excellence.

As a result of our customer focus and commitment to quality, Kelly Services became one of the largest 500 companies in the United States. Based on 1996 sales, Kelly ranked 406 on Fortune magazine's list of the 500 largest companies in America. On the Forbes 500 list, the company ranked 392. In 1996 Kelly made its first appearance on Fortune's list of admired companies.

International expansion has been an important contributor to the company's growth. In 1968 the first international office opened in Toronto.

In 1972 Kelly opened its first European office in Paris, France, and a year later opened an office in London, England. Today, the company has operations in sixteen countries.

Over the years, the company's sales have grown rapidly. In 1973, sales were $100 million. Thirteen years later, in 1986, sales had grown to $1 billion.