We challenge you to attempt three things for your recruiting and retention strategy. First, hire the right employee. Second, hire the best of the best. Third, keep the best of the best. Easy, right? Not quite. These are some of the toughest things startup and growing businesses face. Everyone is looking at hiring and keeping the best of the best. Here is some of the latest thinking around how to do this in this week's weekly roundup.

1) When It Comes to Hiring and Keeping Great Employees, How Do You Stack Up Against the Best? from Inc.

"Consider benchmarking your hiring, salary setting, and mentorship strategies against those of the fastest-growing U.S. companies. Last year, Sam Bacharach, Cornell professor and co-founder of the Bacharach Leadership group, surveyed  more than 300 Inc. 5000 firms to find out how America's fastest-growing companies recruit and develop their best employees. The infographic below displays his results."

2) 5 Ways Chief HR Officers Can Impact The Bottom Line from Forbes

"CHROs should help all employees generate more value. This topic dominated the onstage and backroom discussions at Oracle HCM World this past February. In his keynote, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison asserted that the modern HR department’s efforts to find the right people, retain them, and help them grow professionally is essential for business success. So how does the CHRO translate the demands of senior management into an actual revenue-driving plan? It requires creative thinking and a fundamental change in HR activities. Here are five steps that can get the money ball rolling."

3) Hire New Employees For Their Potential, Not Their Past from Forbes

"Just like an investment prospectus that entices you with a great track record yet says, “past performance doesn’t guarantee future performance,” the same applies when you hire an employee. While the odds are better, your new hire may not succeed at your company just because they highlighted great accomplishments and extensive experience on their resume. When hiring, delve deeper and explore the skills, characteristics, aptitude, and abilities rather than past accomplishments and length of experience. Your job is to look beyond the flash and find those candidates with exactly the right balance of skills and traits to succeed at your company."

4) The 10 commandments of hiring and employee retention from Multibriefs

"I. Thou shalt commit yourself to hiring and retaining only the best. If you are going to succeed, you cannot settle for run-of-the-mill employees. Mediocre employees breed mediocrity, so make sure you recruit and select only the best employees. II. Thou shalt not be unduly influenced by dazzling answers and false appearances. Applicants are generally better prepared for interviews than most employers. They receive coaching and rehearse pat answers to standard interview questions. They know how to dress to impress and will mightily try to do just that."

5) Here’s Why You’re Not Hiring the Best and the Brightest from First Round Capital

"What’s the most consistent piece of advice you get as a startup? Always hire the best people. Never compromise in your hiring standards, no matter how big your company gets. And it’s true. A great team can take an okay idea and transform it into an incredible, world-beating product. But something has always bugged me about this advice. There’s an elephant in the room in the form of an implied clause: Always hire the best people… who are willing to live in San Francisco. Substitute Mountain View, New York, Boston, Chicago, or any other city. The problem is the same. We pay lip service to the idea of hiring the best people in the world — but in reality, we’re only hiring the best people who happen to be close by."