IT contractors could soon be offering their employers advice about efficiency, with a leading business management organisation suggesting this is a good way to improve processes.

Many companies have been taking this approach to improving efficiency for a long time, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

CIPD advisor Angela Baron explained: "It's good to have a discussion just to spark people off and think about things that they wouldn't have thought about before just sitting in a dark corner on their own."

She also noted that, although these consultations are nothing new, a modern twist on this well-practised strategy could be setting up an intranet forum where people can exchange their views.

Her comments follow the publication of a letter to public sector workers from prime minister David Cameron and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, who have called on workers to take more responsibility for their own work and make improvements to workplace strategies themselves.