India's GCC revolution: A close look at hiring and retaining a future-ready workforce

Mint

a day ago

Bengaluru: Global capability centres (GCCs) in India are in the midst of a 'return revolution'. They no longer operate as back offices for their parent companies. They are emerging as centres of excellence—40% of GCCs in India are actively leading AI charters for their global organisations.
Per data from various sources, India had nearly 2,000 GCCs, offering employment to 1.9 million people in FY24 (a significant jump from 1.66 million in FY23) and generating revenue worth about $24.6 billion (a 40% increase from the previous year). Projections envision a market size of $100-110 billion by 2030, with the workforce expanding to 2.5-2.8 million.
The influx of so many highly skilled employees in a complex outfit requires much participation from the HR department. How they are managing this difficult task was the subject of discussion at a recent roundtable titled 'Unlocking talent potential: How HR innovation is shaping India's GCC revolution', hosted by Mint, in association with UNext.
At the event, a diverse cross section of experts delved into this growth seen by GCCs, their expanding mandate and the complex challenge of attracting and retaining top talent in a competitive market like India.
'HR is no longer a support function. It is the function which is actually driving business,' said Aatash Shah, senior vice president and business head, UNext Learning. The HR mandate, he feels, has expanded significantly, now focusing on 'leveraging the full potential of this talent at scale, across geographies and across functions'.
As nearly 2,000 GCCs and traditional IT services companies hire from the same talent pool, this necessitates innovative acquisition and retention strategies. Financial incentives alone are no longer sufficient.
'Most people look beyond financials and benefits. They need something more purposeful, something more meaningful,' said Seetha Rani K.P., head HR at Philips Innovation Campus. Seetha said at Philips employees feel a strong sense of purpose because the company aims to improve 2.5 billion lives annually through healthcare innovations like AI-embedded ultrasound machines that not only helps better care for more people but also uplifts the socio-economic dynamics of the society.
High-calibre talent is drawn to roles where they get an opportunity to solve challenges. Towards this, some organisations design complex interview processes to attract top-tier talent.
'Great talent gravitates towards problems that are meatier to solve. There is a correlation between the complexity of the interview and the ability to attract great talent,' said Mino Thomas, senior director talent and global head talent operations at Adobe Systems India. Organisations must focus on employee journeys within the enterprise and how learning is picked up, so employees don't feel the need to look outside.
Organisations need to see what the employees want. When Hitachi Energy set up its GCC business almost a decade ago, the values of the parent organisation needed to be reflected in the GCC. 'A driver study revealed varied individual motivations – family, career, money - bringing the need for customised retention approaches,' said Neha Ahluwalia, Chief Human Resources Director, India and South Asia Region at Hitachi Energy.
Transparency in communicating career paths and work design is vital. There are different kinds of organisations – from IT services, GCCs to start-ups. 'What makes every GCC or company unique that to life through policies, processes, systems, that's when we create an edge for long-term retention even in a highly volatile market.,' said Priyanka Gupta, Partner, People Consulting, EY India. is the culture. Diversity, innovation, are things everyone talks about. If you are able to bring
'It's about the difference of offering jobs and careers, which really make the difference,' added Ipsita Goswami, associate director, human resources and talent transformation, IBM India.
Role-based training and clear mobility options, including job rotation, are critical, especially for large organizations. 'Learning and development (L&D) plays a very important role in building talent, especially when there's AI coming up. Our continuous focus is how we can build talent internally and make sure that we reduce our build versus buy ratio,' said Vidya Gothe, director L&D, DXC Technology.
Some organisations are also adopting internal gig programs, allowing employees to temporarily work with other teams for experience building, even dedicating a percentage of their time to these projects. This provides formal recognition for their contributions, showcasing a well-published system for such opportunities.
Recognising that a multi-generational workforce requires holistic talent strategies, HR policies are rapidly adapting to these changes. For instance, the discussion highlighted the unexpected demand for pet insurance, reflecting the changing priorities of a younger workforce.
'Along with the learning opportunities, along with the growth opportunities, are you really giving them what they want? For a very long time, I did not realise that people are looking at pet insurance,' said Kavita Mehra, senior director– general management at Dell Technologies.
In the era of AI, a new skill has emerged called 'prompt engineering'. It is no longer just about writing code but about 'your ability to prompt with an AI to make tools make codes happen. It has gone away from how great you are in writing syntax,' said Thomas.
Remadevi Thottathil, CHRO at Latentview Analytics, a young organisation where the average age of the employees is 28 years and spoke about the necessity of faster AI adoption at all levels across generations and said they are actively seeking individuals proficient in crafting effective prompts, viewing it as a core competency for future-proofing the organisation.
In our education system, especially at a graduation level, students receive a very wide coverage in terms of what they learn. But hiring happens for specific roles and needs. 'We are actually the buffer layer between that four-year degree and when people actually join organisations where we have the potential to train them to those specific skillsets,' said Shah of Unext.
With an abundance of online courses and certifications, finding the right candidate has become a challenging task. 'It is a combination of what causes that they do and you know, how they actually perform, in terms of the competency match that we are looking for,' said Anitha Venkataraman, Business Unit HR Head, Tata Consultancy Services.
Some organisations also prize those with multiple certifications, as this could indicate that this person is curious, has a learning mindset, and is a hustler. Rigorous interview processes, encompassing technical and behavioural assessments, are crucial to truly gauge a candidate's fit.
Different companies adopt different learning models for their workforce. At Samsung, most of the hiring happens from the technical campuses. 'We go to the top campuses, hire in large numbers and have a rigorous campus internship program,' said Manavi Pathak, head – learning and organisational development at Samsung R&D Institute India.
The discussion delved into another key aspect – the HR department is supposed to facilitate the hiring, but the real hiring is actually done by the line managers. How can organisations then hire for innovation and how can the line manager dynamic be managed.
The experts said HR teams sit together with line managers for debriefings, and some even onboard engineers in hiring teams so they are technically sound to ask the right questions.
With GCC revenues soaring, HR's strategic contribution becomes more vital. The imperative now is for HR to move beyond facilitation and contribute strategically to the core objectives. 'HR leaders need to understand what drives business, what brings results, what keeps the business manager awake at night,' said Niranjan Joseph, vice president HR at Oracle India.
HR teams are taking assistance from AI to screen candidates, but this is not a fool proof process as the AI is not always able to catch the right skills. The interview is a core part of the process.
'While the skill puzzle is far from solved, what I have seen as one of the best practices is fungibility of skills. We are seeing growing value in identifying both major and minor skills, which not only broadens the talent pool but also sparks curiosity, fosters psychological safety, and enables continuous learning. This mindset shift is paving the way for more adaptive and future-focused teams.' said Anchall Sharma, director – talent, Deloitte.
For the future, organisations are working on building skill stacks that comprise future skills that would be needed in the workforce a few years down the line. This is what is going to power the talent pool for India's GCCs.