Encyclopedia Of Detroit

William Russell Kelly is recognized as the originator of the temporary-help industry and one of the creators of modern-day staffing. Kelly was born on November 21, 1905 in British Columbia, Canada to James Watson Kelly, a successful oil prospector, and Mary Agnes Bickel. In 1922, he graduated from the Gulf Coast Military Academy in Gulfport, Mississippi, then began college at Vanderbilt University, transferring to the University of Pittsburgh the following year to study business administration. During his senior year, his father suffered a stroke, and Kelly left school to work as a Hudson automobile salesman to help care for his family. In 1928, his father passed away from a second stroke leaving Kelly to support his mother and six siblings.

In need of a reliable income, Kelly was hired by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) in Altoona, Pennsylvania in 1928, where he worked in the accounting department on the condition that he would learn about the food business and auditing techniques on his own time. After working at A&P for ten years, Kelly lost his job when his position was eliminated. Unable to enlist during World War II, he worked as a civilian fiscal management analyst for the army’s Quartermaster Corps marketing center. It was here that he began developing modern management techniques and use of labor-saving machines.

In 1946 Kelly moved to Detroit to establish his own business. With his savings of ten thousand dollars, he opened a business that companies could turn to for temporary help to keep up with the demand for secretarial service. Called the Russell Kelly Office Service, he offered typing, inventory calculation, and copying. Initially, these services were provided in the Kelly office, but soon companies began requesting temporary help in their own offices, which Kelly saw as an opportunity for growth.

Many of the temporary employees that Kelly hired were women who had worked during the war and were interested in part-time work. He also hired older women and minorities who had found it difficult to get work during this time. In 1954, he opened a second office in Louisville and in 1955 he opened licensed branches in 30 other cities. That year alone, the company placed approximately 20,000 temporary workers. Shortly thereafter, the term “Kelly girl” became a name used for temporary workers and as a result the company changed its name to Kelly Girl Services, Inc. in 1957.

In the 1960s, the company’s services expanded to include accounting, engineering, information technology, law, marketing, education, and health care. Additionally, Kelly began to hire men as temporary workers, dictating one last name change, to Kelly Services, Inc. in 1966.

In 2015 one million workers worldwide found employment through Kelly Services. The company is headquartered in Troy, Michigan. William Russell Kelly died on January 3, 1998 at his Ft. Lauderdale home at the age of 92.