How to Set Up a GCC in India

A Global Capability Centre (GCC) is a centre that a company owns and runs in another country to deliver capabilities for its global business, such as technology, engineering, analytics, finance or operations. Many global companies choose India for their GCCs. Here are the main steps, with a focus on the workplace side.

1. Define the scope and the first phase

Decide which functions the centre will take on first, how many people you need in the first phase and how you expect it to grow over 12–24 months. This drives everything else: location, space, IT and hiring.

2. Choose the operating model

Companies set up GCCs in different ways: building it themselves, partnering for parts of the setup, or using a build-operate-transfer arrangement. Get legal, tax and regulatory advice specific to your company and the Indian entity structure you choose.

3. Choose the city and locality

Look at the talent available for your functions, the cost of operating, connectivity and the quality of office infrastructure. Within a city, the locality matters too: commute times, transport, and the businesses around you all affect hiring.

4. Plan the workspace

• Phase 1 space for your initial headcount, ready on the date your first hires start.
• Expansion in the same building or nearby for your next hiring wave.
• Layout: team zones, meeting and collaboration rooms, cabins, and quiet areas.
• Branding that represents your global company locally.
• Amenities that help you attract and keep people.

5. Get IT and security ready

Plan connectivity with redundancy, networking, any server or network rooms, and access control that meets your global security policies. These are much easier to build in at the start than to retrofit.

6. Hire and onboard

Recruitment often runs in parallel with the office setup. Make sure the space is ready before your first cohort joins, even if that means starting in a ready-to-use office while a customised one is being built.

7. Operate and scale

Once the centre is running, facility management, housekeeping, security and maintenance need to be handled every day. Plan who will do this, and how you will add space as headcount grows.