Trust and Transparency: Redefining Governance for Agile GCC Operations

By Ramma Shivkumar | GCC Strategy & Transformation Expert | SRK GameChangers, Pune

Over the past few years, India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have transitioned from being support extensions to becoming strategic drivers of global business growth. But as their roles expand, one critical question keeps surfacing in every leadership conversation I have:

How can mid-sized and emerging GCCs balance speed, control, and innovation without compromising trust and transparency?

The answer lies in rethinking governance itself.

For far too long, governance has been seen as a set of rigid frameworks — compliance checklists, reporting hierarchies, and risk protocols. But in today’s environment of digital acceleration and hybrid teams, traditional governance models often slow down progress rather than enabling it.

It’s time to redefine governance for the agile era — where trust and transparency form the foundation of operational success.

The Shift: From Control to Collaboration

In India’s rapidly expanding GCC ecosystem — now home to over 1,900 centres and 2 million professionals (NASSCOM 2024) — agility and responsiveness have become top leadership priorities.

The old governance models, built for predictable environments, struggle to keep pace with the speed of AI-driven innovation, cross-functional collaboration, and fluid global mandates.

What’s needed today is a trust-based governance approach — one that emphasizes empowerment over enforcement and clarity over control.

At SRK GameChangers, we’ve observed that GCCs which embed transparency into their leadership DNA tend to make faster, more confident decisions. Their teams feel empowered, their communication is open, and accountability naturally follows — without excessive oversight.

Trust and Transparency as Growth Catalysts

Trust and transparency are not soft skills; they are strategic enablers.In a distributed GCC model, where teams collaborate across time zones and cultures, these two values determine how effectively organizations can innovate and scale.

Here’s how they transform performance:

1. Higher Employee Engagement:

   When employees trust leadership decisions, they feel more aligned and invested in outcomes. This trust reduces the “us versus them” mindset often seen between India-based GCCs and their global headquarters.

   
   

2. Smarter Decision-Making:

   Transparent data-sharing and governance dashboards enable faster, informed decisions. A recent example is Finastra’s GCC in Pune, which built an internal transparency portal for project visibility — cutting down decision turnaround time by nearly 30%.

   
   

3. Accountability without Micromanagement:

   Transparency in roles and expectations allows teams to take ownership. Accountability becomes proactive rather than reactive.

   
   

4. Resilient Culture:

   In volatile market conditions, trust-based governance ensures that teams can adapt quickly while staying aligned with global objectives.

Building Governance for the Agile GCC

Redefining governance for agility doesn’t mean removing structure. It means designing governance that moves at the speed of innovation.

Here are three practical strategies for GCC leaders:

1. Stakeholder Co-creation

   Instead of governance being a “top-down” exercise, involve cross-functional teams, partners, and even clients in the design process. For example, Caterpillar’s India GCC in Chennai developed its governance playbook collaboratively — with inputs from business, HR, and technology leaders — creating stronger buy-in and smoother adoption.

2. Radical Transparency in Communication

   Agile governance thrives when information flows freely. Regular “town halls,” open dashboards, and transparent KPIs make performance visible to everyone. This approach demystifies decision-making and strengthens credibility across the organization.

3. Continuous Learning and Feedback Loops

   Governance models must evolve. Encourage teams to review what works and what doesn’t. Treat governance as a “living framework” — adapting it as the business scales. In one mid-sized fintech GCC in Hyderabad, quarterly “governance retrospectives” have become an integral part of the operational rhythm.

Indian Case in Point: Zoho’s Decentralized Model

While not a traditional GCC, Zoho’s distributed model offers powerful insights for emerging GCCs.By establishing operations in Tier-2 cities like Tenkasi and Tirunelveli, Zoho has shown how local empowerment, transparent decision-making, and trust in teams can drive both innovation and retention.

This model mirrors what agile GCCs can achieve:

• Local leaders making quick decisions.

• Flat communication structures.

• Transparent, data-backed governance that allows experimentation without fear of failure.

It’s a reminder that trust-driven governance is not just about compliance — it’s about creating ecosystems where people can thrive.

The Leadership Imperative

At the heart of this shift lies leadership mindset.Agile governance starts when leaders move from command and control to guide and empower.

A few key practices I recommend to GCC leaders I mentor:

• Build psychological safety — let teams question decisions without fear.

• Share context openly — don’t just assign tasks, explain the ‘why’.

• Use technology.

If your organization is also navigating this shift, I’d love to hear your experiences.

How are you embedding trust and transparency into your governance culture?Share your thoughts in the comments — let’s learn from each other and build stronger, more agile GCCs together.