Soumitra Saha,
Chief Operations Officer,
Touchcore Systems,
Gone are the days when Global Capability Centers in India were merely cost-saving operations. Today, these 1,700+ GCCs employ over 1.9 million professionals across industries like banking, healthcare, retail, technology, and manufacturing, serving as innovation hubs and digital transformation engines for global organizations.
As these centers evolve, one factor stands out as a true differentiator – employee experience.
In a world where keeping talent is as crucial as finding it, EX has become essential for both performance and long-term success.
The competition for digital talent continues to intensify. India faces growing demand for expertise in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, analytics, cloud computing, and product engineering. Yet attrition rates remain steep, exceeding 20% in technology, IT services, and financial sectors.
Today's professionals, particularly younger ones, seek workplaces offering purpose, flexibility, and growth. The old playbook of perks, annual reviews, and periodic surveys no longer cuts it. Top-performing GCCs now recognize that employee experience isn't just HR's concern—it's a business imperative.
When people feel valued and connected to their organization's mission, their work improves. Teams operating with psychological safety and clear direction simply produce better results. Research confirms that organizations investing in workplace culture outperform competitors in both profitability and customer satisfaction.
GCCs that prioritize employee well-being, skill development, and career growth forge deeper connections with their people. This builds loyalty, reduces turnover, and preserves institutional knowledge. Considering it takes 3–6 months to replace an experienced knowledge worker, retention becomes a cost-saving measure and a competitive advantage.
In today's world of online reviews and social media testimonials, employee experience directly shapes public perception. A GCC known for empathetic leadership, inclusive practices, and internal mobility quickly becomes a talent magnet. In India's close-knit GCC community, reputation carries as much weight as compensation.
A compelling organizational mission—combined with trust, inclusion, and innovation—drives deeper motivation. People want assurance that their work matters beyond metrics and targets. Organizations that encourage openness and recognize individual contributions create more engaged, mission-driven teams.
In today's hybrid work environment, managers do more than supervise operations—they architect experiences. Successful GCCs train leaders in empathy, cross-cultural collaboration, and active listening. Regular, straightforward communication about business goals, changes, and progress helps people feel included rather than sidelined.
Demand for cross-functional exposure and continuous learning has never been higher. High-performing GCCs now provide:
Investing in professional development improves retention while strengthening organizational adaptability.
Post-pandemic workers have redefined their expectations. Hybrid arrangements, flexible hours, wellness support, and mental health resources have become baseline requirements. A 2024 Stanford study found that hybrid work boosts retention by 33% without hurting productivity.
Forward-looking GCCs offer wellness allowances, meeting-free Fridays, counseling access, burnout prevention, and inclusive leave policies supporting all life stages.
Digital friction kills morale. Today's employees expect consumer-grade technology at work. From onboarding to workflow automation to communication tools, every digital touchpoint shapes the experience. GCCs investing in AI-powered HR chatbots, self-service portals, knowledge bases, and collaboration platforms like Slack, Miro, or Notion report better efficiency and satisfaction.
Research shows businesses with highly engaged employees experience:
For GCCs specifically, this means:
Furthermore, as many GCCs aspire to become centers of excellence, preserving domain expertise and innovation culture becomes invaluable.
Leading GCCs now integrate employee experience metrics into business KPIs, tracking indicators like:
They use pulse surveys, focus groups, AI-based sentiment analysis, and exit interview patterns to drive improvement.
But measurement alone isn't enough—action matters most. Employees must see tangible outcomes from their feedback, whether through policy changes, better tools, or shifts in leadership behavior.
GCCs are transitioning from support centers to innovation hubs, and employee experience powers this transformation. The future of India's GCC landscape won't be defined by scale alone, but by how these centers treat their people.
This means:
A GCC's success isn't measured by seats filled, code written, or reports delivered. It's reflected in how empowered, engaged, and fulfilled its people feel day after day.
A thoughtfully designed employee experience strategy becomes the ultimate differentiator. It could drive productivity, improve retention, and enhance the global competitiveness of Indian GCCs in the years ahead.
The Journey Into Industry
With nearly two decades in the global IT landscape, Soumitra Saha has built his reputation on transforming how organizations establish and grow their Global Capability Centers. His hands-on experience spans end-to-end IT operations and digital transformation initiatives across diverse business environments.
Soumitra's expertise in business integration, offshore development strategies, and leading teams across multiple geographies has been the foundation for several high-performing technology centers he's built from scratch.
In his current role directing strategic IT operations for global firms, Soumitra handles everything from service delivery and stakeholder relationships to P&L management, transition projects, and vendor oversight. His professional journey includes launching new ventures, refining service models, and ensuring IT strategies directly support business objectives across various industries.
Colleagues recognize Soumitra for his collaborative approach and operational discipline, particularly when guiding large cross-functional teams through challenging projects. He takes particular pride in creating diverse workplace cultures, fostering innovation through effective governance, and delivering concrete results in every position.
His professional toolkit encompasses GCC establishment and expansion, contract negotiation, IT budget management, competitive bid processes, and team leadership—elements that have made him a prized partner in enterprise evolution.
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