When you fill out on online Rec, Just have an additional button that says "Is this your number one candidate?" You can only have One #1 attached to your employee # at a time.
It is then up to the sponsor to reconcile that number 1 choice with a discussion with an ACP at a convienent time for both of them to sell the candidate and get him into the "Interview " pile.
The Face to Face thing is worthless, and relatively new. I didn't have to do one as little as 2 years ago. All it took was a resume walk in then.
Each crew member can have one candidate in the system every two years.