Pros

If you are in the scientific field they give you a good opportunity to get into positions to learn skills and meet contacts. The starting pay was good when I began compared to other opportunities. Although a 4% raise isn't the best, with good annual reviews it's been steady and adds up over time. Good attitude towards keeping safety a priority. The Dow on site management I have been put under has been excellent.

Cons

Maybe because I am kinda by myself in my location as a Kelly employee, but I don't have much contact with my Kelly Rep. Basically each year at review time I meet with them and an email here or there for informative purposes. Benefits is the major drawback. Once again maybe just my positon, but there is no aid whatsoever for medical type benefits. Just somewhat pricey options offered if you want to buy them. 401k benefit and such is also not provided. Neither are bonuses. Paid vacation is a little off the mark and I would like it to be a little more. A couple more paid holidays to match Dow holidays that I have to be off would be better as well.

Advice to Senior Management

Overall it's a good place to work.......just figure out something better in the benefits department and maybe increase promotion potentials.

Pros

First assignment out of the gate was solid - interesting work, sub-standard but acceptable pay. Accurate, user-friendly pay system.

Cons

Everything I've heard/read about Kelly since signing up turned out to be true - they use you once, the assignment comes to a close, then you are lucky to get a callback as they move on to others who have applied since taking you aboard. If they do call back, it's for almost always a sub-par assignment compared to your prior work experience and pay. Extremely curt and sometimes rude placement managers, but this could be an isolated case. I also received negative feedback about my work performance for one assignment that was untrue, unwarranted, and I was given no chance of presenting my side of the story... sometimes, the client is *not* always right.

Advice to Senior Management

Kelly needs to screen their client base more carefully. Too many assignments turned out to be not as they were presented when I agreed to them.

Pros

Interesting job, get a chance for an employer to look you over fully before making you an offer. Training opportunies abound.

Cons

Contract jobs can and do end in a heartbeat. As a temp, you are not an equal to the other employees. Contract jobs don't always seem to help with resumes.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate with your contractors more often.

Pros

I had no complaints about the pay. Kelly offered a decent pay with a decent bonus. Annual raises seemed to be the norm. I had a short commute. Co-workers were knowledgeable. For the most part they were financially stable at least when I was there. Diverse revenue stream - meaning not reliant on a single industry or customer.

Cons

I was bored with my position within two weeks of employment. I would admit that a lot people said I was crazy for complaining, but I was at different stage in my career and wanted to gain a lot of technical experience via big projects or troubleshooting various complex issues. The work was slow and tedious. Looking back it was great if you were going to school or studying for a certification. I was looking for 3rd level network engineering design and project work but they have a architecture team (two people) who designed everything and did not include the respective teams such as UNIX, Windows or Networking. I was just told to implement. Also a lot of things were outsourced - like WAN and VPN and Internet Routing so it did not leave much for me to get my hands on.

The company itself was surprisingly frugal and behind on technology. No refrigerators to store lunches from home. All the microwaves were in the cafeteria which was not close to my desk by any means. My chair at my desk was terrible as far as ergonomics go. Alot of other people had the fancy ergonomically correct chairs and when I asked my manager he said that they were $600 bucks and that was too expensive for his budget. Keep in mind he had one though. I later discover in the telephone closet about two dozen of these chairs just collecting dust - literally!! Of course I snagged one and took it to my desk.

Advice to Senior Management

None really to offer. My issues were more so related to what I want and didn't want in my career at the time. The job was great for a lot of people - just not me.

Pros

Helping others find jobs is rewarding. There are opportunities to meet many business leaders and network. The staffing industry is very competitive and will force you to become an excellent multi-tasker.

Cons

no 401K match, lack of leadership, poor career development follow thru, change too fast - no actual plan in place, poor low level management

Advice to Senior Management

Please police your low level managers and enforce open hiring practices

Pros

Pays at a fair hourly rate for administrative contract work. Staff members at this site are polite and professional.

Cons

Managers are curt but polite. They didn't coach me through any of the client interviews, but it worked out fine. Not a lot of hand-holding at this staffing agency overall, which was fine for me but may not be for everyone.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer better benefits packages to your temporary employees.

Pros

If your doing a good job, management usually leaves you alone. If you ask for help, don't expect to get it.

Cons

You can work your butt off but if you don't kiss major butt in this company you will never even be asked to go to lunch with your manager. It's all politics and how pretty you are.

Advice to Senior Management

Please acknowledge the true workers and step in when help is needed.

Pros

Stable, well-established company with low debt; strong market presence as the company that pioneered the staffing industry; strong and tenured staff in middle and upper management

Cons

Lowest salaries in the industry while expectations remain high; lack of innovation; lack of support in Canada from U.S.-managed company; they hire hard/manage soft, so costly selection errors are common when hiring internal staff, and upper management must constantly manage behavioural issues

Advice to Senior Management

Keep a closer eye on the satisfaction of your workforce in Canada; actively solicit, pay attention to and be ready to respond to and act upon their suggestions; be concerned when a valuable tenured staff member leaves the company and take action to prevent this from happening in the first place

Pros

Kelly has been around longer than many and has "ins" with many established companies. They have always been willing to negotiate a higher hourly rate or salary for me; they don't just pay lip service to advocating for both contractor and company, then server only corporate interests. Kelly seems to hire friendly, more down-to-earth, capable and socially savvy recruiters, in my experience. I've worked with themk, off and on, for twenty years, and no other employment firm has equalled or surpassed them for customer service and ability to find jobs.

Cons

Recruiters are in business for the bucks. You pay for the conveniences you receive. Many contracts never turn into full-time positions, if that's what you seek. It's in Kelly's (or any staffing firm's) interest to keep you on the pay-roll, regardless of feasibility for the long-term. So, don't look to them to be your advocate and keep your eyes and ears open. You're kind of a skilled mercenary, in terms of needging to depend upon yourself, politically and for protection in the workplace. That said, there are benefits to being on conract, especially if you're savvy and keep your skills and your work polished.

Advice to Senior Management

Look for ways to advocate on behalf of your temps, on site with clients. Many workplaces put sublte and suprisingly overt and heinous pressure on temps, who must keep at work without flinching, in order to protect their longevity; I've seen awful examples of abuse, even within so-called enlightened companies. Often, any contractor or temp who steps up to report an issue to HR finds their contract abruptly terminated. So, clearly defined lines of reporting are another good way to support your people, who are making you lots of money, for the priveledge of finding work that is convenient.

Pros

Flexibility, good way to get your foot in the door of larger companies

Cons

Poor benefits plan. Long term it is discouraging to be a temp for extended periods of time.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus more on temp-to-hire or direct hire positions. Stay away from long-term positions.