Upskilling at the Speed of Change: HR’s Role in GCC Excellence

When Greek philosopher Heraclitus propounded his philosophy of change being the only constant, somewhere around 500 BC, he would scarcely have imagined how his maxim would become the cornerstone of modern industry, especially the Global Capability Centre (GCC) sector, more than two and a half millennia later. As AI, cloud, ML and automation force a rethink on the skills that matter, especially for the future, the role of Human Resources (HR) in GCC has also evolved.

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) The Future of Jobs Report 2025 points out that 39% – or almost two-fifths – of the workers’ existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025-2030 period.” The report adds that employers expect a surge in demand for specialists in AI, big data and cybersecurity. This will be pertinent for GCCs, which have morphed from being back-office units to R&D centres and business hubs powering global enterprises.

India, of course, is at the centre of GCC proliferation with close to 1,600 GCCs running in the country, employing 1.66 million people, with an industry size of $46 billion.

According to a Nasscom-Zinnov report, India’s GCCs now handle almost 45% of the world’s digital engineering mandates, particularly high‑value work like AI/ML, cybersecurity, R&D and product development. This in turn means that GCCs require digital-first talents such as data scientists, cloud architects, GenAI specialists and cybersecurity engineers – clearly highlighting the role of HR in the GCCs’ success.

So What’s HR Got To Do With It?

Plenty. Or rather, everything. In tandem with the changed role of GCCs, their HR too has transformed from handling routine admin tasks to becoming a strategic growth partner. Evidence of this can be seen in the importance HR leaders are accorded within an organisation. According to a report on GCCs by EY, close to three-fourths or 72% of GCC HR heads now have a say in business-planning, up from 48% in 2018.

Implicit in these changed dynamics is the expectation that the HR will not only plan the workforce, which would include hiring and payroll, but also shape culture and drive transformation. The HR of today’s GCC is mandated to prepare future-ready leadership pipelines, foster a culture of real-time coaching instead of yearly reviews, improve DEI and become an agent of talent agility by crafting networks of cross-functional teams that encourage career mobility.

In fact, such is the strategic importance of HR departments in GCCs that they are de facto growth engines for an organisation, as they are responsible for increasing the value of an organisation’s human capital. This implies instituting a culture of continuous learning that combines the best of short-term skill enhancement initiatives that close any skill gaps and long-term capability building that focuses on skills that will be required in the long haul. This places the onus squarely on the HR leaders to not only be abreast of current trends but also be able to foresee shifts in skills needed years down the line.

For example, HR could organise bootcamps for upskilling required for immediate priorities while instituting longer-term measures such as certification programmes or leadership academies focusing on skills required, based on analysis of current trends, in a year or two. It’s also important for HR to know the efficacy of such upskilling workshops by having in place measures that can track and assess the outcome. For this purpose, employee feedback plays a crucial role in order to create a synergy between organisational objectives and individual career goals.

India’s Got Talent…And The GCCs Want It

According to a joint NASSCOM-KPMG report titled ‘GCCs in India: Building resilience for sustainable growth’, 72% of GCC leaders in India listed talent development as their top priority, which explains the war-footing effort on upskilling and reskilling. The objective: morph a static workforce into a flexible, multi-skilled one. This necessitates measures such as building in-house learning academies and immersive programmes or even collaborating with universities that not only helps enlarge the talent pipeline but also ensures newcomers are industry-ready.

Given that GCCs operate on the ‘as-of-yesterday’ principle – meaning that speed is of the essence – HR teams have devised ways to keep pace with the organisation’s needs by taking recourse to data, AI and training platforms to execute company-wide skill analytics.

By leveraging data and using real-time learning analytics, HR leaders can decode which skills are missing, which in turn can help formulate hiring guidelines to focus on hiring missing talent. These tools can also track usage of training resources and tie learning to business outcomes, enabling GCCs to respond rapidly to market shifts in order to remain competitive.

As important as technical competencies are, GCCs also require the talent they induct to have human skills and leadership. These include skills such as problem-solving, adaptability and emotional intelligence, which cannot be replaced by AI.

Upskilling has critical importance for any organisation, more so for GCCs. Too often, organisations err in considering upskilling as a sort of checklist item that needs to be ticked. It can not be stressed enough that upskilling isn’t optional; it’s strategic. GCCs which are successful have made upskilling and reskilling part of the organisational DNA because they know that talent development is the key to their success.

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