Elevating Excellence: Strategic Advancements, Cultural Cohesion, and Global Leadership in India's GCCs

In an exclusive interview with Asia Business Outlook, Avinash Samrit, President, Global Capability Center, Clean Harbors, shares his views on the primary challenges of GCCs while integrating operations and culture, the emerging trend of GCCs, how they harness data analytics and artificial intelligence and more. Avinash is a Strategic leader with expertise in building and scaling up Global Capability Centers (IT and Shared Services). He has more than 30 years of proven global experience in launching, operating, and Optimizing GCC/GBS delivery organizations in India and Singapore.  

What innovative strategies should GCCs implement to advance up the value chain and deliver increasingly complex and value-added services to their parent companies?

As GCC progresses and matures, companies are looking to move up in the value chain. There are several ways of dealing with this. The first and foremost is talent development and upskilling. Nowadays, anyone can purchase computers and have hardware, networks and tools in place. However, it's all about having the right talent and upskilling, and this is where GCC can invest in continuous learning and development so that the skills are upgraded, that is, technical skills and context to the issues that they might solve or the industry they may essentially building technology that will help business. The other area is innovation hubs, which the GCC should focus on in addition to the routine work that people do and provide them time to build innovation hubs so that they can work on projects. Collaboration tools are also necessary and need to be focused on. GCC has come a long way from being a low-cost center; it's not about low-cost but high-value things. Hence, from the parent company's perspective, it's not about saving costs but delivering high-value work. The other strategy is customer-centric; no matter what we do, it has to help our end customer, and these are the areas in which GCC should focus to be innovative.

In what ways can GCCs in India harness data analytics and artificial intelligence to provide more sophisticated and advanced services to their parent organizations?

Predictive analytics is the area where trends can be forecasted, and we are sitting on a data mine with a massive amount of data and need help figuring out what to do with it and how to utilize it. Historical data is critical for predictive analytics regarding trends, customer behavior, operational efficiency, and what can be learned from various parameters to link each other and make better decisions. Another area is AI-driven automation; it begins with mundane work that gets automated, and the creative human resource is utilized for something more value-added. Then, the personalized experience of systems tools and customer interaction has increased significantly. The other way is real-time insights; it gives a clear picture of how the business is performing and how you can react to the market quickly, contributing to enhanced decision-making. Eventually, AI is an enabler for better decision-making to a large extent. These areas will lead to improving product market time and coming up with innovative solutions for customers. Furthermore, increasing operational efficiency is one of the areas where GCC can harness AI. More importantly, cybersecurity is critical these days, and GCC can harness the power of AI to strengthen it.  

What are the primary challenges GCCs encounter when integrating their operations and culture with their parent company, and what effective steps can be taken to overcome these obstacles?

We must acknowledge that people are different in terms of their culture, how they are brought up and their habits across the globe. So, it is essential to create an environment in which we first acknowledge that there will be cultural differences. Another is cross-cultural training, which must be encouraged; for instance, people in India find it hard to say no when there is a request or even if they know it is impossible. So, acting like a professional and being assertive simultaneously are very important. Communication is another clear challenge in cultural integration. To remove cultural communication barriers, we must set up protocols and communication cadence to communicate clearly. Hence, this is where we must continue focusing on AI.   

The next is alignment to the goal; no matter which part of the company you're working for, everyone works for the same goal. So, aligning goals and taking ownership of every aspect helps bridge the cultural gap, as we realize that the workspace could be different, but everyone is working towards the same goal. In addition to that, change management, once we start working together, is crucial to have strategies in place for a solid change management program as things can change in the process, the way of working, and solution delivery. Hence, changes can be managed by having proper policies and performing deliberate reviews, which is very important. 

The other aspect is standardization and localization. Certain things can be standard; for instance, how people communicate and delegate work in a global firm can be more or less standard. However, there are areas in which rewards, recognition or some practices in designations and titles must be localized to suit the requirements. So, there has to be a fine line between what is to be done at the global level, standardizing, and practices, which are important to be localized. Building that strategy around standardization versus localization is critical.

What are your predictions for the evolution of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India over the next decade, and which emerging trends will shape their future?

Total integration is the emerging trend, and GCC is taking the lead in digital transformation and building strategic partnerships, which is the other trend. In the current scenario of GCC, global leadership roles are coming to India, which is another trend; for instance, top IT leadership of a company working from India or product owners working for firms operating outside India.

GCC will focus on sustainability and data-driven decision-making. In general, GCC will become increasingly resilient and evolve from basic service providers to integral parts of the company, which will not only provide high-end value but also be strategic, participate in leadership and play a significant role in driving the company's future.