Description

DATE: February 5, 2025

TIME: 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

LOCATION: Lancaster Chamber

COST: $30 Member

$45 Future Member

What to Expect:

It’s challenging to know how to overcome the language barrier among employees who don’t speak English well. However, hiring from this population adds strength to a workforce. Immigrants and refugees are known as hard-working, dedicated employees, especially when they are treated well. 

In this training session, we’ll share a variety of ways that employers can support individuals who have limited English skills. While most employers rely heavily on translation, it is not the only tool for overcoming language barriers. There are other ways that employers can improve communication, help employees learn English, and train supervisors how to cross the language and cultural divide. 

In this session, we will:

• Explore strategies for communicating more effectively with employees who don’t speak English.
• Identify multiple ways to address the language barrier in the workplace.
• Describe ways to productively use translation to improve communication.

We’ll share insights from our years of working with companies who employ individuals with limited English – what works and what doesn’t work. 

Meet the Speaker: Cathy Martin with Multilingual Workforce!

Cathy Martin, owner of Multilingual Workforce, is invested in bringing together people from diverse cultures, languages, and backgrounds. She has a degree in teaching English as a second language and has worked with non-native English speakers for over 15 years. She and her team work with companies who hire people who don’t speak English, helping all levels of the organization overcome language barriers in the workplace. 

She’s worked with a variety of companies in manufacturing, education, food production, and government. She loves to help leaders understand the nuances of language learning and cultural differences. She hopes to inspire empathy and encourage connection through her work.

She is married to her high school sweetheart and is mom to two young children. She loves reading fiction and drinking a strong cup of tea.

What is the HR Roundtable?

From operations to human resources and management, the HR Roundtable is for you! Co-hosted by Lancaster Society for Human Resource Management (LSHRM), this is an opportunity to understand the issues and challenges affecting company growth and culture. Whether you’re deeply involved in human resources functions in your organization, or you’re simply interested in learning about improving your workplace, the HR Roundtable provides the space to learn best practices from professionals in the local labor market on a variety of relevant topics. Through integrated discussion, you’ll cultivate a valuable network of peers to share ideas and navigate today’s challenges. Each session provides one (1) HRCI and SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP credit hour.

Thank you to our partner!