When Natalia Saveski, CPP, GPHR, moved from Russia to the United States at age 35, she arrived with two suitcases, basic English, and a determination to rebuild her career from the ground up. Investment in continuing education and credentials would see her rise to become International Payroll Lead at multinational automotive manufacturing giant General Motors (GM).
Her relocation was sparked by a relationship that began when her future husband was on a four-month business assignment in Russia. The relationship grew quickly and meaningfully, prompting her to emigrate, but there was one thing she couldn’t leave behind.
“What I did know was that I loved payroll,” said Saveski. “The structure, the logic, the responsibility, the impact on people’s lives ... I wasn’t ready to give that up.”
A Universal Career a World Apart
For six years before moving to the U.S., Saveski was the Group Leader in Labor Relations and Payroll for a BSH Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances joint venture in St. Petersburg, Russia. Joining the venture at launch, she built the payroll department from scratch, establishing all labor and HR policies from the ground up.
She managed payroll for over 1,200 employees across two factories, designing specialized processes for expatriates and implementing new HRIS, payroll, and timekeeping systems. Navigating complex Russian laws, she successfully introduced flexible German working models and organized employee elections that transitioned the trade union into a highly cooperative body.
Starting over in a new country meant starting over professionally for Saveski, a more daunting prospect than she anticipated.
“I quickly realized that U.S. payroll was a completely different world: new laws, new systems, new terminology, new expectations,” she said.
The differences between the Russian and U.S. payroll environments fascinated Saveski. In Russia, employment relationships and payroll practices are largely standardized at the federal level. In contrast, the U.S. system involves multiple layers of taxation and employer-specific policies.
“In Russia, a 10-person company and a multinational corporation follow the exact same rules for vacation, sick leave, parental/maternity leave, termination procedures, and documentation,” she said. “Payroll is highly standardized, and employees pay a flat 13% federal income tax, no state or local variations.
“The U.S. system is the opposite. Many employment policies are determined by the employer, and payroll taxation can differ at the state, county, or even local level. That complexity, combined with constant regulatory changes, was one of the most interesting challenges for me when I began working in U.S. payroll.”
A Question That Changed Everything
Mastering the challenge of U.S. payroll led Saveski to PayrollOrg. She noticed two credentials repeatedly listed in payroll job postings—PayrollOrg’s Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) and Certified Payroll Professional (CPP)—and decided to make them the roadmap for her renewed career.
As Saveski discovered, the FPC is open to all those who wish to demonstrate a baseline of payroll competency, and is designed for entry-level payroll professionals as well as sales professionals, systems analysts, and service provider client representatives supporting the payroll profession. The CPP, though, is a certification credential for those with extensive payroll knowledge and experience; as such, it requires that the examinee has been employed as a payroll professional for a minimum of 18 months.
Saveski contacted PayrollOrg with a simple but portentous question: would her Russian education and payroll experience qualify her for the CPP credential? Thankfully, she had nothing to worry about.
Tamicka Crawford, Assistant Manager of Certification at PayrollOrg, confirmed for this article that there is no requirement that the qualifying payroll experience for the CPP be U.S.-based. International payroll experience may be used to satisfy the eligibility requirement.
When Saveski received a positive answer, she immediately got to work.
Google Translate, and Some Grit
Saveski purchased PayTrain® materials and began studying for the FPC exam. Because English was still a significant challenge, every chapter required extraordinary effort.
“My English wasn’t strong enough to read the material easily, so I studied with Google Translate open on one screen and PayTrain in my hands,” she said. “I taught myself how to calculate federal income tax (FIT). I memorized terminology I had never heard before. I translated every chapter, every formula, every definition.”
The hard work paid off. In 2015, Saveski passed the FPC exam on her first attempt despite having no U.S. payroll experience at the time.
“That certification opened the door to my first U.S. payroll job as an administrator,” she said. “I finally had a chance to apply my skills, learn the system, and prove myself.”
Now working full time, Saveski immediately set her sights on the CPP exam. She continued studying using Google Translate. With every chapter, her English improved, her confidence grew, and her understanding of U.S. payroll deepened. Within a year of beginning fresh with the FPC credential, she earned not only her CPP credential but also something intangible.
“Passing the CPP was more than a credential,” said Saveski. “It was proof that I could rebuild my career in a new country, in a new language, and in a completely new payroll landscape.”
Payroll Without Borders
Her career trajectory accelerated from there. At GM, Saveski oversees complex global payroll programs involving expatriates, executives, cross-border employees, equity programs, and international mobility initiatives. She partners with teams around the world and has led automation efforts, compliance programs, vendor transitions, and global process redesign projects.
“A typical day at GM is similar to what payroll teams experience in most organizations, but with the scale and complexity of a global enterprise,” she said. “On processing days, I’m in oversight mode—leading audits, directing escalations, and coordinating with vendors and cross-functional teams to keep execution smooth. On non-processing days, I shift into driving projects, improving processes, and supporting employees who are escalated to me with the most complex questions. It’s a balance of operations and continuous changes or implementations, and the rhythm doesn’t look very different from other companies, just larger in scope.”
Committed to continuous learning, Saveski completed PayrollOrg's Global Payroll Management Certificate Program in October 2024. The program equips students with the tools and knowledge to conquer the complexities of managing global payrolls—like achieving standardization, ensuring consistency, and creating a seamless internal structure to support a global workforce.
“I took the Global Payroll Management Certificate Program because things at GM are always changing—new tools, new vendors, new global processes,” she said. “I wanted something that really matched that pace. The program focuses a lot on project and change management from a global payroll angle, which is exactly what I deal with every day. It ended up being a perfect fit and really helped me strengthen how I lead implementations and support teams through constant change.”
A Story Worth Sharing
Today, more than a decade after arriving in the United States, Saveski has built a career spanning more than 20 years across payroll, HR, labor relations, and legal disciplines. Yet when asked about her proudest achievement, she does not point to a title or a major project. Instead, she returns to the moment she passed the FPC exam with Google Translate at her side.
“PayrollOrg didn’t just certify me,” she said. “It gave me a second chance, and a global community I’m proud to belong to. And now, when I meet newcomers to the profession—especially immigrants, especially women, especially those learning English—I tell them my story. Because if I could do it, studying late at night with a dictionary and a dream, then so can they.
“Payroll changed my life. And I’m honored to be part of the community that keeps the world paid.”