No matter the industry, your store is only as strong as the team behind it. Even with a dedicated and talented staff, knowing how to manage employees effectively is key to keeping things running smoothly. After all, happy employees lead to happy customers. From hiring to retention, employee management is a tricky process — so it’s important to get it right.
In this blog, we highlight why thoughtful management matters and share nine practical tips to make leading your team a whole lot easier.
Let’s get started.
Employee turnover in retail is high — hovering around 60%. Even in a growing and niche industry like fabric, you’re not immune to the trends affecting overall retail hiring. Hiring employees is a costly endeavor, and once you find the right team, that’s not the end of the road — you also need to maintain them.
Remember: It’s a two-way street. Your employees are people, too — especially in a work environment, treating others how you want to be treated goes a long way. And while it’s true no one may care about your fabric store quite like you do, micromanaging isn’t the answer. Here are some tips on how to effectively manage employees.
The first step to managing employees well is setting expectations upfront. We’re not just talking about the basics like showing up on time or following the dress code. In a fabric shop, this may look like showing your employees exactly how you want bolts wrapped, how to measure and cut half yards, or how to answer customer questions about classes or machine embroidery.
If expectations aren’t clear, employees guess — or worse, ask each other and get totally different answers. It takes only one person to start cutting fabric a little too generously or skipping the upsell on thread to throw things off.
As you’re setting expectations, give your employees the chance to do the same. Let them ask questions and share what they need from you as a manager. Interviews and onboarding need to feel like conversations, not one-sided presentations. A little two-way communication early on can work wonders in building trust and consistency.
Nobody learns best by flipping through a binder. The most effective training in a fabric store happens with hands-on learning. Walk new hires through real customer scenarios — cutting multiple fabrics in different yardages, answering questions about precuts, or checking someone out who’s paying for class sign-ups and sale items.
If you host clubs or workshops, train your staff to register participants and track attendance. Make sure they can also answer common questions about the schedule. You don’t want your team passing off simple questions to a manager every time.
Use your point of sale (POS) system as a teaching tool: A solid POS system for fabric stores has to be easy to pick up, even for new employees. The right tool helps staff quickly learn how to look up products, apply discounts, and register customers for classes — no manual required.
Related Read: Manage Fractional Fabric Inventory With These 8 Tips & Tools
Fabric stores don’t have the same traffic every day — weekends may be packed, Tuesdays can be quiet, and it can get hectic during a big sale or quilt show season. Your schedule needs to reflect those patterns, not just employee availability. This means having enough coverage during busy times, and scaling back staffing when it’s slow.
Consistency matters for your team, too. The more predictable their shifts, the more likely they are to stick around. On top of this, always have a backup plan in case someone calls out sick or has an unexpected emergency — because it happens. While most full-time employees in the U.S. only take about 2–3 sick days a year, there’s also vacation, appointments, and real life to plan for.
Set a clear deadline for requesting time off (a couple of weeks’ notice is usually fair), and be realistic with how much paid time off (PTO) you offer. One week off a year doesn’t cut it anymore — especially in a post-pandemic world where work-life balance matters more than ever. If you’re fair with time off, it shows your team that you respect their lives outside of work, and they respect you and your store in return.
Also, it’s important to make it easy. Use a digital system for time-off requests or shift swaps — you need something better than a sticky note on your desk, or someone poking their head in to say they’re going to Hawaii next month. Having it in writing keeps you from making scheduling mistakes and avoids confusion.
Use your POS for smarter scheduling decisions: A solid POS system is equipped with a built-in timesheet feature, so employees can easily clock in and out. While it may not fully handle scheduling, it can help you spot patterns — like who’s getting too many or too few hours — and generate reports to help you make informed staffing decisions. It’s one more tool that can help you run your store more efficiently.
You don’t need a formal performance review process, but regular check-ins go a long way. In corporate environments, it’s normal to check in with your supervisors once a week or at least once a month.
In retail, though, it’s easy for this to get overlooked. Maybe it’s because turnover is high, or in larger stores, there are just too many employees to keep up with. But if your store is small enough, make a point to check in with your team once a week or biweekly. Even a quick five-minute one-on-one at the beginning of a shift makes a big difference.
It gives you a chance to give feedback, but also to get feedback. Ask what’s working, what’s not, and where they need support. Maybe your employee Jane is great at handling tough customer situations — let her know. Or, if someone’s struggling during busy weekends, talk about how you can help.
These quick check-ins let employees share their ideas, too. Sometimes, they have other great skills that can benefit the business (like Jane, who’s awesome at Photoshop and filming). If she feels heard, she may offer to help with making graphics for your fabric store’s social media or filming short clips for marketing.
This isn’t just helpful for you — it’s a win-win. Jane gets to expand her skill set and add more to her resume, rather than just listing “Store Associate.” Plus, she’s more likely to feel engaged and valued in her role, which leads to better retention.
Everyone wants to feel appreciated — especially in retail, where the pace can be fast and customer questions are endless. A little recognition goes far. It doesn’t have to be anything huge — maybe a handwritten thank-you note, first dibs on the employee discount during a clearance, or a quick shoutout at the next team meeting.
You can also set fun, light-hearted goals. For example, you can give the person who signs up the most people for a quilting workshop this month a gift card to the coffee shop next door. Keep it casual, but keep it consistent.
Remember: Check in with your employees about how they like to be rewarded. Just like love languages, appreciation comes in different forms. One person may love words of affirmation, while another might prefer tangible rewards like earned PTO or bonuses. Knowing what makes each employee feel valued helps you hit the mark every time.
No one wants a dead-end job. Employees want to feel like they’re growing, learning, and gaining new skills. In a fabric store, no two days are the same, and employees often get the chance to take on different tasks — whether it’s helping a beginner match thread, troubleshooting the register, or answering questions about interfacing.
Allowing opportunities to expand, like cross-training or letting employees explore new roles, helps them feel more confident and engaged. Maybe Jane starts as a cashier, but is eager to learn how to teach quilting classes. Offering her this opportunity not only helps her grow, but it adds value to your fabric store, too.
Cross-training also allows your store to run more smoothly. If the cutting table gets backed up and your cashier has a lull, they can jump in to help — and vice versa. It reduces pressure on any one person and keeps the team more flexible and efficient.
Related Read: The 7 Best Ways To Create A Hugely Successful Craft Class
Your team is only as good as the tools you give them. The right tools — like sharp scissors, a clear store layout, or a solid POS system — make all the difference.
If you’re using an ancient register or tracking class attendance on sticky notes, it’s going to frustrate your staff — and this frustration can show up in customer service. Make sure your tools are set up to help your employees do their jobs more efficiently.
The right POS makes a big impact: A POS system built for fabric stores can help manage employees. With it, you can set up logins, track shifts, and make training easier. It also lets your team search inventory, ring up sales, and apply discounts — all with just a few taps. Fewer mistakes mean more time for your staff to focus on what really matters: helping your customers.
If you’re just starting out, offering a full benefits package may not be realistic — but as your business grows, it should become a priority. Health insurance, dental coverage, and other benefits are often key reasons retail employees move on. As much as Jane may love working for you, if she can’t afford basic medical care, like a trip to urgent care, she may eventually look for a larger store that offers better benefits.
Research shows that 94% of small businesses struggle with managing employee benefits, and nearly half of businesses with three to 49 employees don’t offer health benefits at all. If you can’t offer a full benefits package right away, consider putting together a packet of resources for your team.
This can include:
These small steps show your employees that you care, even if you can’t give them full benefits just yet.
As your store grows, offering benefits needs to be part of your long-term plan. Not only does it help with retention, but it demonstrates your commitment to your employees’ well-being, too.
Access control isn’t always the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about employee management, but it’s essential for protecting both your store and your team. In a fabric store, access control refers to limiting who can access sensitive areas of your business, like the cash register, inventory reports, or sales data.
For example, you don’t want a new employee to have access to all your financial reports right away — at least not until they’re trained and proven trustworthy. Similarly, seasonal employees may not need full access to the register.
You can set specific user permissions to make sure each team member only has access to what they truly need to do their job. This keeps your store secure and ensures that employees don’t get caught in the middle of situations that can go wrong.
Here’s a scenario: Jane goes to lunch, stays logged in at the register, and leaves John to handle customers. If something goes wrong, like money going missing, how can you prove who’s responsible? Without proper access control, Jane can unfairly get blamed for someone else’s mistake. With clear user permissions and logging in place, you can track exactly who did what — and protect your business and your employees in the process.
Manage access with your POS system: Set user roles and permissions so employees only access what they need. Limit new hires to sales and register functions while keeping sensitive data restricted. The system also tracks logins, making it easy to monitor activity and resolve issues quickly.
By managing access control wisely, you can ensure that your store runs smoothly and securely, which also reduces the chances of confusion or disputes down the road.
While it’s important to build a good relationship with your team, there’s a few things to avoid to keep everything running smoothly.
It sounds nice in theory, but it can come off as forced and disingenuous. Not everyone has a great family life, and some employees may feel uncomfortable with the “family” vibe. Relationships at work have to grow naturally. Don’t pressure employees to share more than they’re comfortable with, and don’t take it personally if someone like John, for example, is more of an introvert. Not everyone has the same personality as you — let people be themselves.
Yes, retail turnover is high, but if you’re losing an employee every two weeks, it’s time to do some inward searching. Why are your employees unhappy? On average, it costs about $4,700 to hire and onboard a new employee. That’s a significant chunk of your revenue, and the average salary of your retail staff. Instead of constantly hiring new people, invest in retaining the good ones. A little attention goes a long way.
It’s your store, but running it with a strict “my way or the highway” mentality only stifles your growth. Remember: If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. Work with your team, not against them. When everyone feels valued and heard, your store is more likely to thrive in the long run.
Don’t worry if you don’t know how to do everything right away. Learning how to manage employees effectively takes practice, just like making your first quilt or mastering your first sewing pattern. After all, the soft skills, like how to speak to others and show empathy, are actually invaluable hard skills.
Managing employees doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With the right planning and tools in place, you can build a confident, capable team that’s ready to help your business thrive.
While Like Sew isn’t a full-fledged employee management system, it offers several features that simplify the process.
For example, the timesheet feature lets employees clock in and out, and you can use this data to generate reports to help with staffing decisions. The security and access rights feature allows you to assign different user roles, so employees only have access to what they need — keeping your store secure.
Plus, you can track employee activity within the system to maintain oversight and ensure everything is running smoothly. The unlimited cash register roles feature provides flexibility and makes it easy to assign the right person to the register when needed.
With these tools, you can streamline your employee management and give your team the support they need to succeed. If you’re ready to simplify your systems and improve your fabric store’s operations, schedule a free demo today.