What Is Zenbassador?
Zenbassador is Zenople's built-in employee referral program. It allows employees, new hires, and applicants to refer candidates for open positions by sharing a personal referral link. When a referred candidate is hired and meets your defined milestones — such as working a certain number of hours or completing a set number of days on assignment — the person who made the referral earns a bonus reward.
Referral profiles are created automatically for every person in your system. Stages update automatically as referred candidates progress through employment. Your team can monitor everything from the dedicated Zenbassador section inside Zenople.
How Zenbassador Works — The Big Picture
Every person added to Zenople automatically receives a referral link. They can share this link with anyone they want to refer. When a candidate applies through the link (or staff makes a manual referral), the referral is tracked. As the referred candidate progresses through employment, the referral stage updates automatically — and when the milestone target is reached, the referrer becomes eligible for a bonus.
Part 1: Navigation
Zenbassador has three main sections accessible from the navigation menu, depending on a staff member's access:
Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
Dashboard | Overview of referral activity and your personal referral link |
Referral Board | View and manage your own referrals |
Admin | Manage referral plans, branding, office defaults, and portal visibility |
Portal users (Employee Portal, New Hire Portal, Applicant Portal) do not see the Zenbassador navigation — they can only see their referral link on their own portal dashboard.
Part 2: Dashboard
The Zenbassador Dashboard is the main landing page when you open Zenbassador. It shows:
Your referral link — the unique link you share with candidates you want to refer. Visible only when your office has a default referral plan configured.
Referral activity tiles — summary tiles showing counts for referrals, registrations, and on-assignment candidates, broken down by office.
If your office does not yet have a default referral plan configured, the referral link will not appear on your dashboard. Contact your administrator to set up a plan for your office.
Part 3: Your Referral Link
Every person in the system — Applicant, New Hire, and Employee — has a referral link automatically generated for them at the time they are added to Zenople. No manual action is needed.
The referral link opens the applicant application form for your office. When a candidate applies through it, the connection to you as the referrer is captured automatically.
The referral link only tracks a bonus if your office has a default referral plan set. If no plan is set, applications can still come through the link, but no referral bonus is tracked.
You can find your referral link on your Dashboard inside Zenbassador, or on your profile within the Employee Portal.
Part 4: Making a Referral
There are two ways a referral can be created.
Method 1 — Share Your Referral Link
Share your referral link directly with anyone you want to refer. The candidate:
Clicks the link
Completes and submits the application form
Is automatically linked to you as the referrer
The referral is created and starts tracking the moment the candidate submits their application.
Method 2 — Manual Referral
Office staff (or the referrer themselves, if they have Standard or Admin access) can create a referral directly from the Referral Board without the candidate needing to use the link. This is useful when:
The candidate is already in the system
The link was not used
To create a manual referral, search for the candidate by name from the Referral Board and select them. The referral is created immediately using the referrer's current plan.
Duplicate Check
Before any referral is saved, the system checks for an existing active referral with the same candidate name and either the same email or phone number. If a match is found, a duplicate warning is shown and a second referral is not created.
Part 5: Referral Stages
Every referral moves through these stages. Stages are updated automatically — you do not need to do anything for a referral to progress through Referred, Registered, Working, and Eligible.
Stage | What It Means |
|---|---|
Referred | Referral submitted; candidate not yet added to Zenople |
Registered | Candidate has been added to the system as an Applicant, New Hire, or Employee |
Working | Candidate has at least one assignment |
Eligible | Candidate has reached the target (hours or days) — referrer is now eligible for the bonus |
Redeemed | Bonus has been paid out; referral is closed. This stage is final — no further changes are possible |
Stage History
Every time a referral moves to a new stage, the date of that transition is recorded. Administrators can see the complete stage history — including when each stage was reached — for every referral.
Automatic vs. Manual Stage Updates
Referred → Registered → Working → Eligible: updated automatically in the background
Redeemed: set manually by an administrator once the bonus is issued
Any stage: administrators can also manually override a stage at any time
Part 6: The Referral Board
The Referral Board shows all referrals you have made. Each row represents one person you referred.
Columns Visible to All Users
Column | Description |
|---|---|
First Name | The referred person's first name |
Last Name | The referred person's last name |
Email on record for this referral | |
Phone | Phone on record for this referral |
Referral Stage | Current stage: Referred, Registered, Working, Eligible, or Redeemed |
Referral Plan | The plan applied to this referral |
Reward | The bonus amount you earn when Eligible |
Target | The hours or days target set by the plan |
Progress | How far the referred person has progressed toward the target |
You can filter the board by stage to focus on a specific group (e.g., all Eligible referrals, or all Working referrals).
Additional Columns for Admin Users
Administrators see a broader view on the Admin Referral Board, which shows all referrals across all staff members. Additional columns include:
Column | Description |
|---|---|
Zenbassador | The name of the staff member who made the referral |
Person Office | The office the referred person belongs to |
Stage | The referred person's current stage in the ATS / NHO / EIS |
Hired Date | Date the referred person was hired |
Recruiter | Recruiter assigned to the referred person |
Profession Type | The referred person's profession type |
Referral Date | Date the referral was submitted |
Last Contact Date | Most recent contact date recorded for the referred person |
Part 7: Admin — Referral Plans
Referral plans define the reward structure — what milestone the referred person must reach, how much the referrer earns, and which offices use this plan. Plans are created and managed from the Admin section.
What a Referral Plan Contains
Field | What It Means |
|---|---|
Plan Name | The name of the plan, shown on the referral board and to staff |
Description | A description of the plan — who it is for and what it covers |
Plan Type | How progress is measured — either by total hours worked or by total days on assignment (see below) |
Target Value | The number of hours or days the referred person must reach for the referrer to become Eligible |
Referrer Reward | The amount the person who made the referral receives when the target is hit |
Referred Person Reward | An optional reward for the referred person themselves when the target is hit |
Offices | Which offices this plan is assigned to as the default plan |
Plan Types
Working Hour Plan Progress is the total number of hours the referred person has been paid for across completed payroll batches. Once total paid hours reach or exceed the Target Value, the referral becomes Eligible.
Example: Target = 500 hours. Referred person is at 350 paid hours. Progress shows 350/500. At 500+ hours, the referral becomes Eligible automatically.
On Assignment Days Plan Progress is the total number of completed days the referred person has been on assignment. Days with an end reason configured to "not count as assignment" are excluded.
Example: Target = 90 days. Referred person has completed 60 days on assignment. Progress shows 60/90. At 90+ days, the referral becomes Eligible automatically.
Setting an Office Default Plan
Each office can have one plan set as its default. When a referral is created for someone whose referrer is in that office, the plan is applied automatically.
To set a default plan for an office: open the plan from the Admin section and select which offices should use it as default
Multiple offices can share the same default plan
An office can only have one default plan at a time
Changing an office's default plan affects new referrals only — existing referrals keep the plan they were originally assigned
Part 8: Admin — Program Branding
Each organization in your system can have its own Zenbassador branding. This branding is displayed on the applicant application page that candidates see when they click a referral link.
Field | What It Is |
|---|---|
Brand Name | Your organization's name or program name shown at the top of the referral page |
Slogan | A short tagline displayed under the brand name |
Description | A brief description of the program or your organization (up to 150 characters) |
Banner Image | A banner image displayed at the top of the referral application page |
Branding is set once per organization and applies to all referral links for that organization. To update branding, go to the Admin section and open the Branding settings.
Part 9: Admin — Portal Visibility Settings
Administrators can control which referral updates are visible to referrers when they view referred candidates through a portal.
This is configured separately for each portal type:
Applicant Portal
New Hire Portal
Employee Portal
This allows each portal experience to show only the information your team wants referrers to see.
Part 10: Admin — Managing Referrals
Administrators can manage referrals directly from the Admin Referral Board.
Update the Referral Plan
If the wrong plan was applied, an administrator can switch the referral to a different plan. The new plan's target and reward values will then apply to that referral.
Update the Referral Stage
Administrators can manually update a referral's stage when needed. This is useful if a referral needs correction or if the process should be advanced manually.
Mark a Referral as Redeemed
Once the bonus has been paid, an administrator can mark the referral as Redeemed. This closes the referral and stops further progression.
Discard a Referral
If a referral should no longer be tracked — for example, it was a duplicate or submitted in error — an administrator can discard it.
Discarded referrals:
Are removed from the active referral view by default
Can still be found by filtering for discarded referrals
Do not receive any further automatic stage updates
Multiple referrals can be discarded at once by selecting them from the Admin Referral Board.
Part 11: Impact on Person Records
When a candidate was referred through Zenbassador, their record in Zenople reflects this automatically.
Referral Indicator
On the person's detail panel in ATS (Applicant Tracking System), NHO (New Hire Onboarding), and EIS (Employee Information System), two fields are displayed:
Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
Referred | Indicates this person was referred via Zenbassador |
Referred By | The full name of the person who referred them |
This makes it immediately visible to recruiters and onboarding staff whether a candidate came through the referral program and who referred them.
Referral Source on Additional Information
The person's Additional Information section is also updated automatically:
Referral Source: set to Zenbassador
Referral Note: set to "Referred By: [referrer's name]"
This helps with reporting on candidate sourcing and tracking where your hires are coming from.
Part 12: Access and Permissions
Staff Access Levels
Access Level | What They Can Do |
|---|---|
No Zenbassador access | Cannot see the Zenbassador section. Their referral link still exists and works, but they cannot view or manage referrals from inside the app. |
Standard Zenbassador access | Can view the Dashboard, see their referral link, view the Referral Board (own referrals only), and make manual referrals. |
Admin Zenbassador access | Everything above, plus: view the Admin Referral Board, create and edit referral plans, manage branding, configure portal visibility, set office default plans, discard referrals, and manually update referral stages. |
Access is granted by assigning the appropriate Zenbassador navigations to the staff member's role. If a staff member should have access but cannot see the Zenbassador menu, their administrator needs to update the role configuration.
Plan Visibility
Staff can only see referral plans that cover offices they have data access to. When making or editing a referral for a specific person, the plan dropdown is further filtered to plans assigned to that person's home office.
Portal Users
Employees, new hires, and applicants who log in through a portal cannot access the Zenbassador admin or referral board areas. Their portal dashboard shows their referral link (if their office has a default plan set), but no other Zenbassador management features are available to them.
Quick Reference: What Happens Automatically vs. What Is Manual
Action | Automatic | Manual |
|---|---|---|
Creating a referral profile for a new person | ✅ Yes — when person is added to system | — |
Generating the referral link | ✅ Yes — created at the same time as the profile | — |
Creating a referral when link is used | ✅ Yes — when candidate submits the application | — |
Creating a referral without the link | — | ✅ Manual referral from the Referral Board |
Updating stage: Referred → Registered → Working → Eligible | ✅ Yes — runs automatically in background | ✅ Admin can also override any stage |
Recording the completion date of each stage | ✅ Yes — captured when stage changes | — |
Marking Redeemed | — | ✅ Admin marks after bonus is issued |
Discarding a referral | — | ✅ Admin discards |
Setting referral source on the person's record | ✅ Yes — when referral is linked to the person | — |
Updating progress (hours or days count) | ✅ Yes — runs automatically after payroll/assignments | — |
Assigning a plan to an office as default | — | ✅ Admin sets in plan configuration |
Configuring program branding | — | ✅ Admin sets in Branding settings |
Configuring portal visibility | — | ✅ Admin sets portal visibility settings |
Quick Reference: Referral Stages
Stage | Candidate Status | Next Trigger |
|---|---|---|
Referred | Referral created; candidate not yet in system | Moves to Registered once candidate is added to Zenople |
Registered | Candidate added as Applicant, New Hire, or Employee | Moves to Working when an assignment is detected |
Working | Candidate has at least one assignment | Moves to Eligible when progress reaches the target |
Eligible | Target hours or days reached | Admin marks Redeemed once bonus is paid |
Redeemed | Bonus paid out | Final stage — no further changes |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does a person need to log in to share their referral link?
A: No. A person can share their referral link at any time without logging in. The link works as a standalone web address. Logging in is only needed to view the Referral Board, check progress, or make a manual referral.
Q: What happens if a candidate applies through a referral link but is never hired or placed?
A: The referral is created and may move from Referred to Registered if the candidate is added to the system. However, if no assignment is ever created, progress stays at zero and the referral never reaches Eligible. No bonus is paid.
Q: Can a candidate be referred by more than one person?
A: No. The system checks for duplicate referrals based on name and contact information. If an active referral already exists for the same candidate, a second referral is not created and a duplicate warning is shown.
Q: What if the wrong plan was applied to a referral?
A: An administrator can update the plan on any active referral from the Admin Referral Board. The new plan's target and reward values apply going forward.
Q: If a plan's target or reward amount is changed, does it affect existing referrals on that plan?
A: Yes. Existing referrals on the plan will reflect the updated target and reward values.
Q: Can a referrer see all updates about a referred candidate in the portal?
A: Not always. Administrators control which referral updates are shown in each portal, so the visible information can differ between the Applicant Portal, New Hire Portal, and Employee Portal.
Q: When does the referral link appear on an employee's portal dashboard?
A: Only when the employee's home office has a default referral plan configured. If no plan is set for the office, the referral section does not appear on the portal dashboard.
Q: Can someone see referrals made by other staff members?
A: Standard users can only see their own referrals. Administrators can see all referrals from all staff members on the Admin Referral Board.