Kelly Girl Service. 

Fortune. June 1959.

William Russell Kelly pretty much invented the modern concept of the staffing agency in 1946. Originally, the work was done in Kelly’s office, however, clients would request that the work be performed at their locations. Soon, these temporary office workers would be referred to as “Kelly Girls” and the company changed the name to Kelly Girl Service, Inc. in 1957. While “Kelly Girl” became synonymous with “temp worker” regardless of gender, the name changed to its current iteration, “Kelly Services” in 1966. 

On a personal note, I am a recruiter by trade, and while I no longer work on the staffing agency side, I will say that I once worked for the creative division of Kelly Services here in New York City a number of years ago. Right now, recruiting is undergoing a major transformation and the old model is being disrupted.