Bosses in IT support and other areas are being reminded of the need to communicate effectively with their staff.

Not all employees are as at ease with online methods of communication, such as email and instant messaging, as younger generations, pointed out Ruth Spellman, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute.

Sending out memos to all staff at the same time can be done easily via email, but other messages may be better sent via another medium, she explained.

"An awareness of the age and gender effects in internet usage may alert managers to the need to be inclusive in their communication, using personal as well as computer-mediated channels" Ms Spellman commented.

Figures from HireScores.com suggest that nearly one in five managers find it easier to deal with problems via virtual communications.

This is despite the fact that just under two-thirds admit this is much less effective than meeting in person.

In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were guaranteed response times and allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues.