Face-to-face recruitment emerged the recruitment form of choice over e-recruitment in a light-hearted debate last Tuesday between representatives of both sides of the industry.

Arguing on the side of face-to-face, Charles Ashworth, managing director of Brook Street Bureau, contended that the "scratch and sniff" test in dealing with candidates in person -- getting a sense of the person's attitude and fitness for the organisation -- cannot be replicated online.

Steven Norris of The Internet Corporation countered that while e-recruitment cannot replace human contact, it is a necessary tool to get rid of the related "drudge" work such as paperwork and bureaucracy in "a world beset by rules and regulations".

Norris added: "The whole thing about e-recruitment is that the drudge is gone -- technology takes all of that away. Technology allows us to concentrate on the things that really matter and leaves us to use the skills we've got."

The initial show of hands revealed the audience roughly split -- until Norris added his vote to the opposing side in a second show on hands.

The London event was sponsored by Aon Consulting.