Contract workers prefer the human touch to the touch of a mouse when it comes to finding a new job.
According to research by Resourcing Solutions, a specialist construction recruitment firm, more than 90% of UK job hunters have looked for work online using online job boards and specialist job sites but more than two thirds of respondents said they never took it further.

Survey respondants said they would prefer to talk to a real person who had in-depth knowledge of the market and the company in question.

Despite this, today's potential employee is more than happy to use online technology in their working environment, drawing a clear line between those who use the web in work with those who use it to find work.

Key findings include: 91% of respondents saying they would be happy to go paperless and fill in timesheets online arguing that such paper intensive tasks could be eradicated to increase productivity

Accessing documents online was also top of the wish list for many of those people surveyed, with 82% saying remote access to documents and other work related material would transform their day-to-day working lives

HR was singled out as an area that would benefit from automation, for example online access to the latest health and safety information.

With social networking sites like Facebook becoming popular, the research showed 60% of respondents believed they would benefit from access to a networking site in their working lives

Richard Lawrance, managing director of Resourcing Solutions said 'There is a very clear divide here as to how people in the work place are using the Internet and Web based applications. On the one hand the overwhelming majority of people do check the internet bulletin boards for jobs, but instantly revert to people when actually applying for a new job'.

Lawrence added 'However, once in the workplace there is tremendous demand for web based applications that can help people improve their own personal productivity. For employers the message is clear: facilitate access to documentation, HR, timesheets and other productivity tools and you will improve the morale and working environment for your employees.'