What is a referee review?
A referee action allows applicants to send an action flow task to a third party—such as a reference—before submitting their application. This task can be used to verify information, collect feedback, or request a letter of recommendation.
Why use this feature?
Application submissions often peak near the deadline, leaving referees little time to respond. This can delay your reviewing schedule. With a referee action, applicants can send the referee task before submitting their application, giving referees more time to complete it.
Common uses
Referee review can be used in many ways, typically to:
- Have referees review and approve application content
- Have referees complete additional fields and submit approval
Step 1: configure the notification
Notifications alert referees that they have a task to complete.
Go to Settings > Communications > Notifications in the Manage workspace
Click New notification
In Trigger drop-down, choose Action stage started
Compose your message, including the {review_url} merge field—this links directly to the referee task
Click Save
To send a confirmation message when a referee completes their task, create another notification and choose Action stage completed as the trigger.
See the Ultimate guide to notifications for more details.
Step 2: configure the referee tab
In the Manage workspace go to Applications
Click Edit form and select your form
Click the + next to your tabs
In the configuration tray, choose Referee from the Type drop-down
Add a Name and, if needed, a 'Tab info box' Content block
Choose whether the tab applies to all or some categories
Under 'Referees', leave the Review stage drop-down blank
Set the minimum and maximum referees required
Click Save
When saving an error message will appear stating that a review stage needs to be defined. You will return to complete this step later in the configuration.
For programs that do not need to gather data from referees, but simply review and gather approval, skip the creation of referee fields in step 3 and make form fields read-only in step 4.
Step 3: configure the referee fields
By default, the referee tab displays fields to collect a referee's name and email address. You cannot edit or move these fields.
Additional fields you create in the referee tab can be visible to the applicant and/or the referee, depending on the permissions you set. For programs with multiple referees, these fields should be configured inside of the white box as they will duplicate for each referee added.
Field visibility and permissions:
- If the applicant needs to see a referee's response, select Read when configuring the field.
- If the referee needs to complete a field that applicants cannot see, set Read, Write, and Required (if necessary) permissions in the action flow task (see Step 4).
- If the referee should not see the applicant's response to a field, deselect all permissions in the action flow (see Step 4).
- If multiple referees are added, use read-only permissions in the action flow setup to prevent them from overwriting one another's responses on non-referee fields.
To add additional fields:
In the referee tab, hover your cursor inside of the white box and click the +
Select your Field type, provide a Label and Short title—Hint text and Help text are optional
Choose whether the field applies to all or some categories
Under ‘Access’, set whether entrants can view (Read), edit (Write), or must complete (Required) the field—these settings apply only to entrants, not referees who will be able to edit the field regardless
Click Save
Unless the fields have had the Read, Write, and Required access deselected, entrants will be able to see the responses left by referees.
Step 4: configure the action flow task
Now create the task the referee will complete.
Go to Manage workspace go to Action flow > Settings
Click New action stage and choose your form
Under 'Action stage', provide a Name
Select Create action task from the 'Outcome' section
Under 'Review by', select Action by referee
In Send stage start notification, select the notification created in Step 1
On the 'Action page' tab, set field access for referees—this includes those fields configured in Step 3 and/or throughout the rest of the application form
-
In the 'Proceed / Stop' tab:
Provide a Proceed button label (e.g. "Complete" or "Submit")
Set a Proceed status
Optionally tick Apply moderation approved status if referee approval is required before reviewing
Choose a completion notification or content block if needed
Provide a Stop action label (e.g. "Do not approve" or "Reject")
Set a Stop status
Optionally tick Apply moderation rejected status to block the application from reviewing
Choose a completion notification if needed
If desired opt to Hide stop action or Validate fields
Click Save
Step 5: connect the task to the tab
Once the action flow task has been configured, it can be connected to the referee tab. This step resolves the action stage error message shown when the tab was first created.
In the Manage workspace go to Applications
Click Edit form and choose your form
Open the referee tab
Click the settings icon next to the tab's name
In the configuration tray under 'Referees', select your Action stage
Click Save
Applicant experience
Applicants add referees by clicking Add referee within the referee tab. They must provide the referee’s name and email, plus any extra fields you configure about the referee.
When finished, they click Send request to trigger the task. A timestamp will show when the request was sent. Applicants can resend requests if needed. Once the referee completes their task, a Completed timestamp will display.
Referee experience
Referees receive an email with a direct link to their task.
Registered referees must log in to complete it
Unregistered referees can access it directly via the link
In the task, referees will see any fields that you've given Read access to in the action flow setup and be able to edit any fields with Write access.
Good to know
- The referee name and email fields will display automatically—there's no need to configure them.
- Registered referees must log in to view their assigned task task. Unregistered referees can access it directly via the link without registering.
- File upload (single), table, and formula field types cannot be used in referee tabs.
- Referee tasks can be managed by account managers in the same way action flow tasks are; see: Manually trigger and manage action tasks.
FAQs
Can I rename "referee"?
Yes. Go to Settings > Content > Terms to change terminology; see: Configuring terms.
Can I rearrange the referee fields?
Name and email are fixed. Additional fields can be added and arranged in the form editor.
Can I change the "Send request" button?
Yes. Go to Settings > Content > Interface text and search for “send request”.
Can I have more than one referee tab?
Yes. You can configure multiple tabs for different program needs.
Can I delete referees?
Referees who haven’t completed their task can be deleted. Completed ones cannot.