Once an applicant names referees, Rhythm handles the next steps automatically. It finds or creates a contact for each referee, creates the reference record, and sends the referee an invitation to submit it. This article explains when that happens, how Rhythm uses the referee details the applicant enters, and what happens if referee processing runs more than once.
When Referees Are Processed
Rhythm processes referees only after the application exists and any application fee has been settled:
- For a free application, Rhythm processes referees as soon as the application is submitted.
- For a paid application, Rhythm does not process referees at submission. It processes them after the application fee's order is fulfilled, which means payment has been confirmed.
If the application does not name any referees, Rhythm does nothing with referees and the submission still succeeds normally.
What Happens for Each Referee
For each referee named on the application, Rhythm follows these steps:
- The referee's reference process is chosen from the reference requirement configured for that referee type in the application's process. If no reference requirement is configured for that referee type, Rhythm skips that referee without creating a reference or sending an email, and continues processing the other referees on the application.
- A contact is found or created for the referee.
- If the applicant selected an existing contact as the referee, Rhythm uses that contact exactly as selected.
- If the applicant typed the referee's details, Rhythm looks for an existing contact with the same email address. If it finds one, Rhythm reuses that contact.
- If no contact matches, Rhythm creates a new contact from the details the applicant entered. If two referees on the same application use the same email address, Rhythm creates one new contact for both.
- If the referee has neither an existing contact nor an email address, Rhythm cannot identify or contact them, so it skips that referee.
- A reference record is created for the referee and linked to the application, the award, the referee's type, and the chosen reference process.
- An invitation email is sent to the referee if the reference process has invitations switched on, has a template configured, and the referee's contact has an email address.
Tip
If the applicant did not select an existing contact and did not provide an email address, Rhythm cannot create a reference or send an invitation for that referee. Make sure every referee an applicant names has either a matching contact or a usable email address.
Running Referee Processing More Than Once
Rhythm processes referees as new work only, not as a full refresh of every referee on the application. If the same application is processed again, such as when fulfillment for a paid order is retried, Rhythm does not send another invitation to a referee who already has a reference from an earlier run. Rhythm does not send a reminder or resend the invitation when that referee's reference already exists.
The exception is a referee whose reference was deleted after it was created, while the referee entry still remains on the application. If the application is processed again, Rhythm invites that referee as if for the first time because that run does not find an existing reference for them.
If Something Goes Wrong for One Referee
Rhythm handles each referee independently. If one referee's reference cannot be created, or their invitation email cannot be sent, Rhythm absorbs that failure quietly. The application submission still reports success, and Rhythm continues processing the other referees on the application.
Because of this, a successful application submission does not guarantee that every named referee received a reference and an invitation. If a referee says they never received anything, check whether their reference record exists before assuming the invitation was simply delayed.
Related Reading
Referees are named as part of an application. See Manage Applications for how staff find, create, and manage applications from the Console, including adding or removing a referee after submission. Rhythm uses the same find-or-create approach to match a person by email address when a nomination is submitted; see How a Nomination Becomes a Nominee Record. After Rhythm creates a referee's contact record, it is a standard CRM contact; see Create or Edit a Contact.