After working as a travelling musician and experiencing significant changes in his personal life, Nick Heber felt like he needed to shake up his career. While job searching, he stumbled upon a holiday seasonal associate position at a Bath & Body Works distribution center in Columbus, Ohio. He applied, got started and instantly felt like he clicked with his smaller, close-knit team. From interacting with the supportive manager of his department to demonstrating an ability to learn more technical skills on-the-job, Nick quickly unearthed a knack for data and analytics.
“I’ve always been curious – I want to know the ‘why’s’ and understand the bigger picture,” said Nick. “I didn’t know how to use Excel when I started, but leaders were interested in helping me grow – they saw the potential in me that I didn’t see in myself.”
Nick’s curiosity and passion for the technical side of Bath & Body Works’s field business continues to grow, even now – nearly a decade later – as a Logistics Manager. The foundational computer skills he picked up as a seasonal associate were just the start. Over the years, he’s gained experience in reporting, data engineering and data visualization, often learning systems and processes from the ground up across his different roles on the learning and development, merchandising and broader Distribution Center-focused teams.
“The level of talent here would surprise people,” said Nick. “We’re truly best-in-class at a lot of the things we do – that’s a point of pride for me, and for the people I’m around … I never feel like I’m the smartest person in the room since there’s so many smart people here.”
Taking large sets of raw data and turning it into a story people can understand excites Nick, and he’s recently been able to apply this expertise to support strategic planning for seasonal hires over the last few years – a full circle moment given where he started at Bath & Body Works. Nick’s team uses past data trends and predictive modeling to help plan for when the company needs to start hiring temporary staff, how much seasonal staff they need, and what natural attrition may look like during the holidays as a result of different variables. This process also helps Bath & Body Works’ operations teams create staffing plans and mitigate risks around the holiday surge.
Nick’s role at Bath & Body Works allows him to work cross-functionally, as his work often directly informs and guides efforts related to talent acquisition planning, learning and development programming for associates and considerations for the supply chain team. He sees leaders across the business embracing opportunities to build strong relationships, support each other and encourage personal and professional growth.
“I’ve always had a strong support structure here, even when I was stretching myself,” said Nick. “I wasn’t going to fail, even if I was outside of my comfort zone.”
Interested in a future with Bath & Body Works? Apply online at bbwjobs.com or text BBWJOBS to 97211.