our value proposition

Our Value of Employment strategy addresses employees' survey-based feedback by working to improve quality-of-life issues, such as 401(k), training, salary, and maintaining a casual dress code. At Borders Group, we work hard to understand and deliver what is important to our employees. It's simple: We ask, listen, and respond. Where there is a gap, we see it as an opportunity. We believe that employee satisfaction will lead to customer satisfaction; this is what ultimately drives shareholder value.

Below, learn more about some of the key elements of our company, which were developed using direct feedback from our employees.

Your Health
Your Family
Your Future
Your Time
Your Finances
Your Life
Your Training and Development

Your Health
Our employees clearly expect protection when it comes to leading healthy and productive lives. For that reason, our benefits and policies exceed marketplace standards. The following is a highlight of our programs:

• Medical Plan
• Dental Plan
• Vision Plan
• Medical/Dental/Vision benefits for part-time employees
• Short- and Long-Term Disability Plans
• Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Fitness Center Discounts

Your Family
At Borders Group, we understand the importance you place on leading a well-balanced life and meeting all of your family needs and obligations. We encourage a balanced and family-focused life through the following progressive policies and benefit offerings:

• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Domestic Partner Benefits
• Adoption Assistance
• Family Medical Leave
• Flexible Work Schedules
• Emergency Assistance and Bereavement Program through the Borders Group Foundation

Your Future
Finding a company that provides ample support for your future financial goals is acritical factor when deciding which company to work for. At Borders Group, it's notjust about the paychecks, it?s also about the realization that you need to plan foryour future. Below, examine our roster of programs designed to aid in the day-to-dayplanning, as well as those that offer options forlong-range needs.

• Employee Savings Plan with Company Match
• Employee and Dependent Life Insurance
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Scholarship Assistance Through the Borders Group Foundation

Your Time
A balanced life requires a company that values the time you spend away from work. That's why we make sincere efforts, like the following, to give our employees the time they need to lead a well-balanced life. Whether through our paid time-off plans, or our flexibility in scheduling, we strive to meet the needs of our employees. A highlight of our programs includes the following:

• Company Paid Vacation
• Paid Sick/Personal Days
• Flexible Work Schedules
• Paid Holidays
• Bereavement Pay
• Jury Duty Pay

Your Finances
Who doesn't like a little something extra? We're always finding new ways to reward our employees and supplement their pay by providing access to discounts on a variety of products and services. Over the years, we have assembled a group of quality relationships that our employees have grown to depend upon, such as the following:

• Borders, Waldenbooks and Borders Express Merchandise Discount
• 1-800-FLOWERS Discount
• Citibank at Work Discount
• Group-Rate Tickets to Events
• AT&T Wireless Discounts
• T-Mobile Hotspot Discounts
• Daimler Chrysler Vehicle Discounts
• Auto Insurance Discounts
• Homeowners Insurance Discounts

Your Life
You live life to the fullest both at work and at home. At Borders Group, all of the areas noted above combine to help make the work lives of our employees better. We value the culture that we have created over the years, and believe that we have some of the best employees in America. In keeping with that belief, we offer the following additional benefits:

• Promotion from Within Philosophy
• Excellent Working Environment
• Casual Dress Code
• A Focus on Diversity in Our Employee Base
• Career Advancement Opportunities
• Access to Book Signings, Concerts, etc.

Your Training and Development
The drive to excel at what you do comes with the need for continued development. That's why at Borders Group we commit ourselves to the orientation, training, and development of our employees with a company-wide training strategy. We continually refine and add to our courses in order to keep current with trends and employees' needs.

The training curriculum ranges from bookseller training to diversity training and and leadership development. The programs are divided into four categories—store operations, management/leadership, professional development, and technical training. We work with teams and departments across the organization to tailor our courses to the individual needs of our employees. Here are some examples of current course offerings:

Store Operations Training

• Selling Essentials
• Customer Service Training
• New Employee Orientation
• Inventory Management
• Basic Store Operations—Including Cafe, Music and Inventory Process
• Product Knowledge
• Professional Development for Field Trainers

Management/Leadership Training

• Leadership Development for Multi unit Managers
• Leadership Development for Supervisors
• Leadership in Action
• Executive Leadership Development
• Situational Leadership
• Managing Change
• Effective Execution
• Managing Diversity
• Managing Performance
• Professional Development for Field Trainers

Professional Development Series

• Diversity
• Communication Skills Programs
• Presentation Skills
• Motivation for Everyone
• Presentation/Facilitation Skills
• The Team Environment
• Managing Change
• Customer Service
• Time Management

Technical Skills Training

• MS Office: Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, MS Project and Dreamweaver
• Operational Skills by Department