In
recruitment, it’s still ‘not what you know, but who you know’, according to the
director general of the Institute of Directors (IoD).
Speaking
about networking at the International Business Forum at the European Business
School, business leader George Cox said a more personal approach to hiring
could reap business benefits.
He
said that introducing a friend to an organisation was a good way of making sure
that new recruits will fit in with the team.
"In
an organisation, all of us like to work with people that we respect and want as
colleagues," Cox said. "I’ve never had anyone recommend a colleague
that they didn’t feel would fit into the organisation and the culture."
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He
compared this approach to the ‘lottery’ of online recruitment, which he said
made it difficult to tell applicants apart, and likened it to "trawling
for fish".