FACE-to-face meetings are still important and help forge better working relationships.

That’s the message from a recruitment leader based in Poole who says the benefits of face-to-face communication are being undervalued.

Michelle Merritt, the boss of Wild Recruitment, believes the lockdown trend of communicating through messages and notifications is ‘potentially harming the economy’.

Michelle says there is no replacement for seeing people face-to-face, whether in person or through a screen.

She said: “I am not against tech or working remotely as long as people still meet face-to-face, in person or through programs such as Zoom or Teams.

“We communicate through our facial expressions and through our hands, so seeing each other makes a big difference.

“Since the Covid lockdowns when we had no choice, much work is being done without parties ever meeting face-to-face - by just messaging each other.

“It can work, but it is far more likely to fail than when people can actually see each other’s faces and build up a rapport.”

Michelle says seeing others face-to-face allows a recruiter to better understand clients and job-seekers, as well as build closer relationships.

She said: “When we visit a client we can get a feel for the company and its values and culture.

“And when we meet a job-seeker we can better understand them and how they would fit into the workforce of a client.

“While we will never return to how it was before Covid, we must return to those practices which will benefit us now.

“Some of those in younger generations prefer to communicate just through notifications, but they still need experience of dealing with people face-to-face, developing relationships, gaining inter-personal skills and building confidence.”

Michelle added: “Tech solutions are great but they work best if they run alongside face-to-face communication, which no impersonal messaging can replicate.

“We do not just simply find people for our clients, we provide a consultancy service, building that long-term relationship in person.

“Understanding their strategy, challenges and culture is so important for us to be able to deliver a quality service.”