How the right culture factors in driving growth of GCCs in India

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. This statement by management guru Peter Drucker highlights how the all-important element of culture is a key differentiator in the growth of any organisation, and this stands true for global capability centres (GCC) as well.

GCCs in India score high marks on the culture index, according to the India GCC Culture Sensing report by Deloitte India. It mentions, “Organisations can align their cultural priorities with business objectives to drive long-term value creation.”

According to the report, GCCs score 82 out of 100 for the five sectors—technology, media and communication, life sciences and healthcare, consumer, financial services and energy, resources and industrials.

“Overall, Indian GCC organisations are showcasing a high culture score, primarily contributed by factors such as emphasis on inclusive and ethical culture and learning opportunities,” the report noted.

Culture influences innovation and risk-taking, which are critical for growth. Also, employee development through training and focusing on adaptability for change is vital for long-term growth, noted The Culture Factor Group.

For GCCs in India, too, these are critical to run a vibrant organisation.

According to the Deloitte India report, the five parameters assessed for the culture index were: empowerment and inclusion, agility and innovation, ethics and sustainability, growth and learning, and performance and results. An inclusive workplace with a focus on employee well-being goes a long way in setting the right culture for the GCCs. In addition, there needs to be good learning and training opportunities so that employees are exposed to multiple roles and challenging problems.

Culture is central to GCCs that promise greater career opportunities and compensation, driven by the need to hone top-tier talent and advance innovation.

The element of trust in the leadership is also a key factor in building the right culture within the organisation. More importantly, merit plays a key role in advancing careers in GCCs as promotions are largely based on performance rather than just seniority.

Today, the GCCs in India are no longer a backend operation as they are very much in the forefront of driving innovation. A report by Nasscom and Zinnov highlighted how the role of GCCs now encompasses technology, operations and product engineering, with AI being the top priority. India has around 1,700 GCCs generating $65 billion in revenues, and this number is expected to cross $100 billion by 2030 with more than 2,400 GCCs.

Though the overall culture score is high among the GCCs, some segments have performed slightly higher. The technology and media and communication sectors maintain a relatively high and consistent culture score, showing relatively less variability and a positive work culture.

The energy, resources and industrials industry shows significant variability in culture scores, with some companies achieving high scores while the majority lag, indicating challenges in maintaining a consistently positive work environment.

Each of the sectors comes with certain specific challenges, but the overall score continues to remain high.

Deloitte believes there are five fundamentals that every GCC needs to focus on to create a successful organisation. Agile and lean structures with simple processes, holistic employee well-being initiatives, performance-linked reward and recognition structure, identify and eliminate unconscious bias across different organisational layers, and lastly, enhanced hyper-personalised skilling initiatives.