Games : Is there a way to gather materials efficiently?

Every character has a different proficiency when gathering. Some can mine, some can gather herbs and some can chop wood. As far as I know the only way to check who is good at what, is to go into a characters skill tree. And even if you know who is good at what there is no quick way to make sure they are the one that touch the gathering spot. So does it matter who touches the spot? And if it does is there a quick way to make sure the correct character does it?