SilkRoad released its annual "Sources of Hire 2017" report that helps companies find the best candidates. 

SilkRoad focuses on talent activation that exceeds standard talent management by analyzing millions of data points to provide talent acquisition strategies for today's evolving workforce.

Key findings from the report noted that employee referrals are still the top source for hires, delivering more than a third of overall placements and 45 percent of internal promotions. The latter figure is up 5 percent from last year.  

The report also found that internal hiring resulted in a significant reduction in the use of HR resources, with fewer interviews required to find suitable applicants for a given position.

Online job sites were analyzed as well, with Indeed being the most successful among similar websites (excluding social media job boards such as LinkedIn). CareerBuilder follows in second place in terms of providing successful candidates. LinkedIn led the field in producing interviews, with CareerBuilder in second among branded job boards.  

Recruitment in learning environments was also up during the last year and campus recruiting increased 14 percent, even though overall interviews throughout the year decreased 4 percent.

“Modern job seekers view their interactions with a company – from recruitment to retirement – as a single integrated experience, and companies need to adopt an approach which matches that way of thinking,” Amber Hyatt, SilkRoad's vice president of product marketing said in a statement. “The data in SilkRoad’s 'Sources of Hire 2017' report offers compelling evidence that companies should build a hiring strategy around five best practices: know your audience; create a persona; develop your employee value proposition; evaluate the current candidate experience; and connect the candidate to company goals. By following these steps, companies can improve their sourcing effectiveness and deliver an amazing personalized candidate experience.”