Looking for Kelly Services Alternatives? Here Are 5 Top Staffing and Recruiting Companies for Remote Hiring

Kelly Services pioneered temporary staffing back in 1946 and places 450,000+ professionals annually. But maybe you’ve been shuffled between account managers. Maybe their pricing structure requires three calls just to get a ballpark figure. Or maybe you need a recruiting partner who specializes in building permanent remote teams rather than filling temporary positions.

Whatever brought you here, there are solid alternatives to Kelly Services worth considering.

The staffing landscape is packed with companies claiming “industry expertise” and “global reach.” But the differences in how they actually operate matter more than their taglines. Some focus on temporary placements while others build permanent teams. Some specialize in specific regions or sectors. And the gap in service delivery, pricing transparency, and partnership approach can be dramatic.

This guide covers five alternatives to Kelly Services for hiring remote talent. We’ll show you what each company does well, who they serve best, and where they fall short.

TL;DR: Quick Comparison of Kelly Services Alternatives

For those who want the bottom line upfront, here’s our take:

• Near: If you want to build a loyal remote team in Latin America and work with recruiters who learn your company culture, Near’s personalized service makes them seem like an extension of your team, not a vendor transaction.

• Randstad: If you’re a large enterprise needing workforce solutions spanning multiple countries with both temporary and permanent options, Randstad’s 39-country infrastructure handles complex, multi-location hiring.

• Robert Half: If you’re hiring specialized professionals in finance, accounting, or technology and need deep vertical expertise rather than generalist staffing, Robert Half’s 75-year track record serves mid-to-large enterprises.

• Adecco: If you need urgent or mass hiring across multiple locations internationally, Adecco’s 3,800 branches in 62 countries can deploy talent at scale quickly.

• Hays: If you’re in construction, IT, or engineering and need specialized sector expertise with nearshoring capabilities, Hays brings 50+ years of global experience with a focus on technical roles.

Full Breakdown: 5 Kelly Services Alternatives for Remote Hiring

Let’s start with what’s obvious.

All these companies connect businesses with remote talent. They screen candidates, coordinate interviews, and handle parts of the hiring process.

Those are baseline expectations for any legitimate staffing and recruiting firm.

What matters are the differences in specialization, service models, geographic focus, pricing transparency, and whether they approach partnerships as transactional placements or long-term team building.

Here’s what sets each apart.

Near

Near (Hire With Near) is a full-service staffing and recruiting agency that helps US companies of all sizes hire top-performing remote talent in Latin America across finance, accounting, sales, software engineering, AI, data, design, marketing, operations, and virtual assistance.

We’re putting ourselves first because we think we offer something fundamentally different for companies building remote teams.

When you’re hiring 5, 10, or 50 remote team members, enterprise-level processes can feel like overkill. Near operates differently. We’re built for companies that want the quality and reliability of premium recruiting without navigating the bureaucracy of massive staffing conglomerates.

We’ve helped over 700 companies find A-players who integrate into their culture and stay for years. Near operates more like an internal recruiting team that happens to specialize in Latin America.

Our 97% placement success rate and 4.9 G2 rating aren’t accidents. We focus on what matters: finding high-quality candidates who grow with your company long-term. This approach builds lasting relationships. Clients return to hire entire departments through Near after experiencing what dedicated recruiters who care about quality can deliver.

Key features

• LatAm specialization: Exclusive focus on Latin American talent with recruiters and talent hunters on the ground who know the market inside out.

• Speed and quality: Curated video shortlists delivered in 3-5 days, most roles closed in under 3 weeks.

• Transparent pricing: Clear upfront pricing with no hidden fees. One-time placement fee or monthly staffing fee. Plus, you always know exactly what your hires earn.

• Retention focus: 80% of hires stay 2+ years. 180-day replacement guarantee. Pre-vetted talent pool of 45,000+ candidates plus active sourcing.

• Cross-functional coverage: Finance, accounting, sales, marketing, customer support, operations, engineering, design, data, and more. If the role can be done remotely, we can source for it.

• White-glove service: Same team consistency, one point of contact as you scale. 9.1+ client satisfaction score.

Best for: US companies that want to build loyal, integrated remote teams in Latin America. Companies that value transparency, speed, and working with a recruiting partner who understands quality over just filling seats quickly.

Limitations: If you need someone for just 2 to 3 months with no long-term relationship, traditional staffing or staff augmentation makes more sense.

‍Randstad

Randstad is the world’s largest staffing provider with $28 billion in annual revenue, placing 2+ million people daily through 4,600+ branches across 39 countries. The Dutch-based Fortune 500 company (ranked #132 globally) serves 70% of Fortune 500 companies and maintains particular strength in Europe (60% of revenue), North America (25%), and emerging markets.

The company’s proprietary Randstad Enterprise platform delivers AI-powered talent intelligence, predictive analytics, and integrated workforce management across MSP (Managed Service Provider), RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing), and total talent solutions. Randstad emphasizes “human forward” positioning combining technology with personalized service, claiming to place one person every 2 seconds globally.

Remote work capabilities span temporary remote staffing, permanent remote placement, freelance/gig worker platforms (Randstad Digital), and distributed workforce management through specialized divisions, including Randstad Technologies for IT professionals and Randstad Sourceright for enterprise talent solutions.

Key features

• Massive global scale: 4,600+ branches across 39 countries with deep presence in Europe, North America, and emerging markets

• Fortune 500 relationships: Serves 70% of Fortune 500 companies with established enterprise infrastructure for complex, multi-location hiring

• Technology platform: Randstad Enterprise for AI-powered talent intelligence, predictive analytics, and workforce planning for distributed teams

• Service breadth: Temporary, permanent, freelance/gig, RPO, MSP, payroll services, HR consulting spanning remote, hybrid, and on-site arrangements

• Specialized divisions: Randstad Technologies for IT roles, Randstad Sourceright for enterprise solutions, Randstad Digital for freelance platforms

Best for: Large enterprises with multi-country hiring needs requiring proven global infrastructure. Organizations needing blended workforce solutions combining temporary staffing, permanent placement, and enterprise MSP/RPO across multiple geographies.

Limitations: Minimal G2 presence with 7 reviews limits credibility assessment. No publicly disclosed pricing requires custom quotes for all services. Focus on enterprise clients can mean smaller accounts receive less attention. No visible LatAm-specific nearshore programs despite broad geographic coverage.

Robert Half

Robert Half operates as the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm, founded in 1948 and now generating $7.24 billion in global revenues. The publicly traded company (NYSE: RHI, S&P 500 member) maintains 300-400+ locations across 17-18 countries and placed 174,400 professionals in 2023.

Unlike generalist staffing agencies, Robert Half concentrates on five professional specializations: finance and accounting, technology, legal, marketing and creative, and administrative and customer support. The company serves over 60% of Fortune 1000 companies and 35% of Fortune Global 500 enterprises through specialized divisions, including Accountemps, Robert Half Technology, Robert Half Legal, The Creative Group, OfficeTeam, and Management Resources.

Robert Half emphasizes remote talent placement using proprietary AI for location-agnostic candidate matching and provides secure virtual workstations for remote onboarding.

Key features

• Specialized vertical expertise: Exclusive focus on five professional verticals with dedicated recruiters who understand these functions deeply

• Fortune 1000 relationships: Serves 60%+ of Fortune 1000 companies with 75+ years of track record in specialized professional staffing

• Remote placement infrastructure: Proprietary AI for location-agnostic matching, secure virtual workstations, established remote onboarding infrastructure

• Service models: Temporary and contract staffing, permanent placement, executive search, project-based staffing, managed services

• Divisions: Specialized brands for accounting (Accountemps), technology (Robert Half Technology), legal (Robert Half Legal), creative (The Creative Group), administrative (OfficeTeam)

Best for: Mid-to-large enterprises needing specialized professional talent in finance, accounting, technology, legal, or creative functions. Companies seeking both temporary and permanent placements with dedicated vertical expertise.

Limitations: G2 rating of 2.6/5 stars from 17 reviews reveals communication breakdowns and ghosting issues. Pricing remains completely opaque with no online disclosure, and rates are described as “steep” in multiple reviews.

Adecco

Adecco operates as the world’s second-largest staffing provider with $10.5 billion in revenue, 25,000+ recruitment experts, and a massive physical presence of 3,800 branches across 62 countries. The Swiss-based company places 600,000+ people in jobs daily and maintains a database of 17 million candidates in the US alone.

Adecco’s “omni-channel strategy” combines extensive local market presence with digital platforms, emphasizing geographic reach and rapid deployment capabilities. The company claims a 93% fill ratio compared to the 25% industry average and targets reaching 850,000 daily placements.

Services span temporary staffing, permanent placement including mass hiring capabilities, executive search, RPO, BPO, MSP programs through Adecco powered by Pontoon, training and development via Aspire Academy, and HR consulting. Adecco offers remote job placement but shows limited emphasis on LatAm nearshore capabilities.

Key features

• Massive global scale: 3,800 branches across 62 countries placing 600,000+ people daily with access to 17 million US candidates

• High fill ratio: Claims 93% fill ratio vs. 25% industry average for rapid deployment needs

• Omni-channel approach: Physical branch presence combined with digital platforms for local market expertise plus online efficiency

• Service breadth: Temporary, permanent, executive search, RPO, BPO, MSP, training academy, HR consulting spanning industries

• Mass hiring capabilities: Designed to scale from 1 to 5,000+ hires with established processes for urgent, high-volume recruitment

Best for: Companies needing urgent or mass hiring with tight deadlines. Organizations requiring multi-location hiring across international operations. Traditional industries like manufacturing, logistics, and industrial sectors valuing physical branch presence and local market expertise.

Limitations: G2 rating of 4.5/5 stars based on only 4 reviews provides minimal credibility due to extremely limited sample size. Pricing transparency remains low with complex fee structures requiring custom quotes, and conversion fees for temp-to-perm can reach $6,000 for specialized roles. No visible LatAm-specific nearshore or offshore programs despite broad geographic coverage.

Hays

Hays positions itself as a global specialist recruitment leader with 50+ years of experience worldwide and 23 years operating in the US. The company maintains 33+ countries of operation with 13 US offices and remote recruiting experts providing nationwide coverage.

Hays was recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) as one of the Largest Staffing Firms and Largest IT Staffing Firms in the US in 2023, and named a Market Leader by Everest Group in both MSP and RPO global rankings. The company focuses heavily on specialized sectors including information technology, construction (500+ placements annually), engineering, and professional services.

The company offers nearshoring capabilities through Latin America, particularly Colombia, highlighting skilled bilingual talent pools within 2 time zones of major US cities. Services span permanent staffing, temporary and contract staffing, executive search, RPO, MSP, and total workforce solutions with technology platforms supporting distributed team management.

Key features

• Specialized sector expertise: Deep focus on IT (cybersecurity, cloud, data science, infrastructure), construction, engineering, and professional services with vertical-specific recruiters

• Global footprint with nearshore capabilities: 33+ countries including LatAm presence with Colombia nearshoring specifically highlighted for bilingual talent and time zone alignment

• Technology platform: Proprietary tech stack, Google-powered candidate database, fully configured ATS for RPO clients, remote work infrastructure

• Construction focus: 500+ construction placements annually with expertise in high-rise, civil, commercial, infrastructure projects; 5-10 day candidate presentation timeline

• MSP/RPO recognition: Named Market Leader by Everest Group in both categories with flexible pricing models (percentage of spend, per-transaction, fixed fee, or performance-based)

Best for: Mid-to-large organizations in technology, construction, or engineering sectors needing specialized vertical expertise. Companies seeking nearshore capabilities in Latin America for cost-effective talent with time zone alignment. Organizations requiring MSP/RPO solutions with flexible pricing structures.

Limitations: Minimal G2 presence with insufficient reviews limits credibility assessment. Pricing not publicly disclosed for most services beyond general MSP structure options. Following global market consolidation, may have reduced footprint in some regions. No replacement guarantee terms publicly listed.

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‍Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right Kelly Services Alternative

Each company on this list delivers results for their target clients. The differences come down to what you actually need based on your company size, hiring priorities, and partnership preferences.

Some need massive scale for enterprise hiring. Others want specialized sector expertise. Some prioritize transparent pricing. Others focus on permanent team building rather than temporary placements.

The right choice depends on whether you’re building a team or filling temporary positions, your geographic focus, your budget transparency requirements, and whether you need personalized service or enterprise infrastructure.

If you’re open to hiring in Latin America, Near’s approach centers on finding A-players who level up the rest of your team. We’re not here to just fill seats. We find the exceptional candidates who drive companies forward and help you build the team you didn’t even know you could afford.

Our biggest differentiator? The strength of the candidates we present. Clients regularly tell us they have a hard time choosing just one finalist because the quality is consistently high across the entire shortlist. In some cases, companies end up making two hires when they only planned for one, simply because they don’t want to pass on exceptional talent.

That’s what happens when you focus on cultural fit, retention, and finding people who genuinely want to contribute to your mission rather than just optimizing for speed and volume.

If you need traditional enterprise staffing with global reach and established processes, Randstad, Robert Half, Adecco, and Hays each bring different strengths to specific industries, geographies, and use cases.

The best way to determine what’s right for your situation is having real conversations about your specific needs and getting a complete picture of what each company offers.

To explore whether Near’s approach fits your needs, schedule a free, no-commitment consultation call. We can discuss our process, pricing, and provide salary benchmarks for the roles you’re looking to fill.