India is flexing its dominance as the world’s preferred destination for global capability centres (GCCs), with the number of GCCs in the country projected to reach 2,400 by 2030, according to EY. At the same time, the ecosystem is facing an acute talent crunch, especially for mid-senior level leaders adept at AI, ML and digital skills.
Moreover, a recent SPAG FINN Partners report revealed that attrition rates across India’s GCCs stand at 15–20%, adding fuel to the fire.
It all points to a fundamental challenge that the country faced even during the early outsourcing era: branding.
Many centres struggle to clearly articulate their value to parent organisations. This is especially true for greenfield centres being set up from scratch. Over 140 new greenfield GCCs have been launched across the country over the past 30 months alone, as per data shared by the consulting services company, Inductus Group.
Talking to AIM, Ullas Vinod, India site and director of healthcare major Owens & Minor’s Pune-based GCC, emphasised that timing is critical for branding of greenfield GCCs. “These efforts need to begin even before the GCC is formally established. Having the right partners and the first 25–30 senior team members plays a crucial role in shaping how attractive the new centre appears to talent.”
What about Talent?
Greenfield GCCs’ inability to attract senior talent hints at a structural issue. Sachin Alug, CEO of talent solutions company NLB Services, explained, “When we establish a new GCC from scratch, we’re essentially asking top-tier talent to bet their careers on an entity that exists more as a corporate promise than a tangible reality.”
Unlike mature GCCs that have spent decades building employer brands and alumni networks, greenfield centres face what he called a “startup stigma”, without the excitement or upside usually associated with startups.
India’s senior technology talent today matches global standards, which makes professionals far more discerning. “Talented professionals ask themselves: Will this new centre have staying power, or will it become another cost-optimisation casualty when the parent company faces headwinds?” Alug pointed out.
In the early stages, many greenfield GCCs focus heavily on operational stability—getting delivery right, building internal capabilities, and managing costs. While this is understandable, branding often takes a back seat.
The SPAG FINN Partners report found that only 25–30% of GCCs in India have hired PR or communications partners.
As a result, there is little promotional storytelling, limited leadership visibility, minimal engagement with academia or industry forums, and very little communication about what makes the GCC unique beyond its parent brand.
“In the early stages, referrals form a significant share of hiring, and when existing team members believe in the journey, they become the strongest ambassadors for GCCs that are still relatively unknown in the local market,” Vinod added.
Problem of Global Branding in Indian Market
Adding to the problem, global branding narratives are rarely adapted well for the Indian market.
“If you’re not a big, instantly recognisable brand—like Microsoft or Amazon—branding becomes a real challenge. The reality is that nearly 90% of GCCs, including some very large ones, belong to companies that most people in India have never heard of,” Ashish Sinha, MD, Flutter Entertainment India, noted.
Another major issue is what Alouk Kumar, CEO, Inductus Group, described as the “headquarters credibility gap.”
“Many greenfield GCCs suffer from ambiguous positioning, are they innovation hubs or cost centres?” he pondered.
He further noted that while parent companies may publicly project their India centres as strategic innovation partners, internal realities such as budget control, decision-making authority, and project ownership often tell a different story.
This disconnect does not go unnoticed. Talent in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune quickly picks up on the mismatch. Candidates don’t just compare GCCs with one another but also with product companies, startups, and established multinationals with clear value propositions.
When a greenfield GCC cannot clearly explain whether it owns products, drives architecture decisions, or simply provides extended development support, it struggles to attract top talent.
Kumar believes what separates successful greenfield GCCs is transparency and leadership commitment. “The GCCs that break through invest heavily in visible leadership presence—not just during launch,” he said.
In such cases, global C-suite leaders regularly spend time in India, teams are co-located, and India becomes a real decision-making hub. These centres also prioritise strategic projects early on, creating visible impact and intellectual property that helps counter scepticism.
“The uncomfortable truth is that branding a greenfield GCC requires patient capital and long-term thinking in an era obsessed with quarterly results,” Kumar added.
Organisations that treat GCC setup as a multi-year brand-building effort, rather than a short-term hiring sprint, are better positioned to build strong employer brands and attract high-quality talent.
Trust is Key
The importance of branding is also reinforced by hiring data. A Taggd study showed that 75% of job candidates consider employer reputation a key factor when choosing where to work. Yet many greenfield GCCs fail to fully leverage this.
“As the talent battlefield heats up with the entry of new GCCs, candidates are looking for more than compensation,” observed Nitika Goel, managing partner and CMO of consulting firm Zinnov.
Greenfield GCCs face tough competition from established IT services firms and well-known global brands. Without a strong identity, they often become backup options rather than first choices for candidates.
Goel pointed out that weak employer value propositions and generic cultural messaging further hurt hiring outcomes. “The challenge is not awareness but confidence,” he explained.
This often results in slower hiring cycles and higher candidate dropouts, even when the work itself is compelling.
Goel added that successful greenfield GCCs take a more focused approach, often partnering with a handful of universities aligned to its engineering goals and building research collaborations.
Also, hiring conversions can be improved by offering candidates a real mission—such as ownership of a new product line—instead of relying on brand name alone. “A sharp EVP amplifies this,” she said.
When purpose, leadership intent, and values are consistent across the hiring journey, confidence improves. Early credibility signals such as strong leadership visibility, competitive pay, niche skill incentives, and certifications like Great Place to Work also help close the trust gap faster.
The post Why Branding Remains a Key Challenge for India’s Greenfield GCCs appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.
