Getting Ready for a GCC: 5 Essential Steps for Business Success

Setting up a global capability center (GCC) isn’t just an operational decision. Done right, it’s a strategic move that can shape the future of your business. While many organizations are drawn to GCCs for cost optimization, access to talent, or scale, the real opportunity lies in positioning the GCC as a driver of digital transformation and long-term enterprise value.

But transformation doesn’t happen automatically. A GCC only becomes a catalyst when it has a clear mandate, strong leadership sponsorship, and a seat at the strategic table.

To unlock this potential, companies must start with intent: clarify the strategic mandate, align it to business priorities, and design the GCC to deliver differentiating capabilities in addition to efficiency gains. Everything else flows from that foundation.

Here Are 5 Factors to Consider:

1. Look Beyond the Routine

Organizations should look beyond GCC size and cost savings, focusing instead on building strategic IP and long-term differentiators. By designing a services catalog around core value-creating areas and outsourcing the rest, GCCs can evolve from efficiency hubs into drivers of innovation and sustainable growth.

Just as important is ensuring CXO sponsorship and a seat at the table for GCC leaders. Without executive visibility, the GCC risks becoming an order taker rather than a strategic driver. At the time of defining the GCC strategy, organizations should also define a roadmap for functional ownership.

With empowered leadership, strategic mandates, and global reporting lines, the GCC becomes a true enabler of enterprise strategy and transformation.

2. Focus on Talent Strategy

A common pitfall in talent strategy for GCCs is treating them as cost-saving hubs for transactional or operational work. For example, if an enterprise faces attrition, it may simply shift those roles to the GCC. While that yields immediate savings, it limits the GCC to a back-office function and misses its strategic potential.

The more forward-looking approach is to establish a long-term talent roadmap that positions the GCC as a talent incubator. This means building and owning core capabilities within the GCC, not just filling operational gaps. It also involves using the GCC as a talent engine for the enterprise, rotating people between the GCC and headquarters, fostering cross-pollination of skills, and embedding enterprise culture. By doing so, the GCC evolves into a source of innovation, leadership, and competitive differentiation rather than just a low-cost delivery arm.

3. Create Space for Real Innovation

A differentiated GCC creates an environment where teams can experiment, take ownership, and pursue projects that move the enterprise needle. This means carving out time for innovation, encouraging problem-solving beyond day-to-day operations, cultivating a hackathon-driven culture, and ensuring space to work on initiatives with measurable business impact.

Leadership can strengthen this by publishing a clear set of business priorities or outcomes, linking metrics to innovation, giving GCC teams a north star for their efforts. Leveraging the wider ecosystem—startups, universities, and local talent networks—further accelerates innovation and builds unique capabilities. By embedding this mindset, GCCs transform from operational engines into strategic hubs, not only executing efficiently but also shaping the enterprise’s future. This shift positions GCCs at the heart of the innovation agenda, driving meaningful impact across the organization.

4. Build Transformation Into the Transition

Many GCC journeys follow a “lift and shift, then transform” approach, moving functions first and focusing on transformation later. A more strategic path is to consider “transform and shift” or “transform during the shift.” Instead of relocating entire functions as they are, organizations can assess which capabilities should be moved as-is, which should be redesigned before moving, and which can be transformed during the transition. This thoughtful sequencing avoids simply replicating existing inefficiencies at scale and enables the GCC to accelerate impact from the outset. By embedding transformation into the shift itself, GCCs can become value-creating hubs faster, driving both operational excellence and enterprise-wide transformation.

5. Pick the Right Partner

Choosing the right partner is critical to ensuring your GCC delivers more than operational efficiency. The right partner brings proven experience, the ability to elevate your GCC to a strategic level, and the vision to align it with enterprise transformation goals. They can design a roadmap, provide the right capabilities, and guide your teams through the journey, helping you avoid common pitfalls to realize the GCC’s full potential as a value-creating hub.

Ready to take the next step? Learn more and connect with our GCC experts