It is tradeshow season...or at the very least, the next wave of tradeshows has arrived. This week I attended a show in San Francisco as an Exhibitor. I always enjoy the opportunity to talk about our product and listen to other companies promote their products and services, but the thing that rejuvenates me each and every time is the engaging conversations happening inside, outside and during the information sessions.

Some of the best tips I’ve ever heard, were usually offered over a bagel and coffee during a break. Some of the best ideas are born out of spirited debates during a break out session. There’s always something new, different and open for consideration. Some of the best ideas and learning happens in the art of networking. And you’ll never be able to completely automate or codify good networking. While we’re working on buying more time, the overriding theme I heard from corporate recruiters, staffing professionals and consultants is the importance of learning to master the art of relationships – identification, maintenance and endurance.

As we explore Web 2.0 and what that means and does not mean to recruiting, as we work to optimize tools and streamline processes and metric ourselves into well oiled machines...I hope the one thing we never lose, is the element of touch. So much of what makes recruiting rewarding is bringing people to the right career at the right time. The best recruiters I’ve ever known are not only proficient; they are passionate about the significance of what they do. They are advocates, career counselors and professional seers.  Good recruiters impact lives. Hokey? Possibly, but still valid. Sometimes I wonder if all the solutions that are born everyday to take some of the “time” out of the process aren’t also taking some of the “think” out of the process. As we try to endear ourselves to the ones who determine out yearly recruiting budgets, it is so easy to make it all about the process, and less about the skill and art of recruiting. We forget, touch.

The element of relationship building is a critical skill that some people are born with, but most learn over time. There’s no way to automate that. There is no solution on the market to cheat your way through that vital step in our process. All the employment brands, candidate experience packaging and metrics maneuvering will never replace the ability to identify talent, nurture it, present it effectively and close the deal. Our business is still the business of touch.

This week, I watched people sharing ideas. I watched people talking about their experiences, comparing notes on technology and different ways to touch people where they live, work and play. I also heard a lot of metrics and numberese. But one point remained crystal clear:

All the tools, processes and automation will definitely make us faster but developing the talent that is searching for the talent, will truly make us better.