"A level of self-confidence in order to ask people for their time, and a level of empathy and respect in order to understand that networking is a two-way process and is as much about giving time as it is asking for it [is important]," said Manuel.

"If you want to get on someone's calendar, don't over-analyse it. The worst that can happen is he or she says no."

Norman does not believe that women are necessarily at a disadvantage because of their sex when it comes to internal networking.

"For example, I went to the launch event of our Leading Edge programme, which is our key management development course for entry-level managers and the most energetic and engaging participants both in the auditorium and informally afterwards were women," said Norman.

Manuel argued that rather than simply being 'better' than women at networking, men are merely more likely to network more frequently, usually at informal and impromptu social events, whereas over time, women tend to move away from the impromptu approach over time.