Global Capability Centres and shared-service operations are changing how they hire. The old playbook doesn't work anymore.

For years, these centres competed mainly on cost. They'd set up in locations with lower wages and focus on filling seats quickly. But that approach is fading. Now, they're building teams that add real value to the business.

This shift changes everything about how they recruit.

Why the Old Approach Stopped Working

The cost-centre model had limits. Companies found that simply moving work to cheaper locations didn't solve their problems. They needed skilled people who could innovate, not just execute.

The global GCC market was estimated at $128.5 billion in 2023 and is expected to increase to more than $300 billion by 2032, growing at a rate of 13.51% CAGR. 

The Global Capability Center Services Market reached $172.34 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $403.22 billion by 2032, growing with a CAGR of 11.21%. 

Here's what changed:

• Technology got more complex
• Business needs became more specialized
• Competition for talent got tougher
• Remote work opened up new options

GCCs that still hire like it's 2015 are struggling to fill roles. The ones that adapted are building stronger teams.

The Global Landscape

The GBS industry now encompasses 7,000+ captive centers and 3,000+ outsourced centers globally, with nearly 60% of shared service organizations operating 1-3 centers globally, while 35% operate at least four. 

The global shared services market size is $42.15 billion in 2024 and will expand at a CAGR of 23.50% from 2024 to 2031. North America holds more than 40% of global revenue with $16.86 billion in 2024, while Europe accounts for over 30% and Asia Pacific holds around 23%. 

But this isn't just about market size. Nearly 30% of shared service organizations have increased their number of centers in the past two years, and 25% plan to expand further. 

The New Hiring Strategy

Smart GCCs treat recruiting as a strategic function now. They're not just filling positions. They're building capabilities.

Focus on value, not just cost

Modern GCCs have reduced operational costs by 40-60% and accelerated digital transformation initiatives by 2-3X. 

Yes, budget matters. But the question changed from "Who's cheapest?" to "Who brings the most value for the cost?"

This means hiring people who can:

• Solve problems independently
• Adapt to new tools and processes
• Work across different teams and time zones
• Grow with the organization

Build for flexibility

The pandemic proved that location matters less than it used to. Many GCCs now hire from multiple countries or regions. Some roles are fully remote.

One in five candidates in the US declines job offers, with a 9% lower likelihood of accepting offers compared to residents of other nations. This makes flexible work arrangements even more critical. 

Where GCCs Are Setting Up

The landscape is truly global now. The top 5 locations for setting up GCCs are India, Poland, UAE, Vietnam, and Mexico, with Argentina, Romania, Brazil, and the Czech Republic also as highly preferred destinations. 

More than 400 global centers operate in Poland, employing more than 350,000 people, with cities like Cracow and Warsaw ranked in top 10 global outsourcing destinations.

In Mexico, more than 80 global technology and finance firms operate in Guadalajara, known as Mexico's "Silicon Valley," offering 75% overlap in commercial hours with North America.

Organizations can save up to 80% on operational costs by choosing the right GCC location, according to detailed TCO comparisons across 9 countries. Source

This geographic diversity creates access to better talent pools. But it also makes the recruitment process more complex.

What a Modern Recruitment Process Looks Like

The basic steps haven't changed much. What's different is how GCCs approach each stage.

1. Planning and scoping

Before posting a role, teams now spend more time defining what they actually need. Not just skills, but how the person will work with existing teams.

69% of employers say they are struggling to find qualified candidates for open positions, and the global talent shortage is expected to reach 85.2 million by 2030. 

77% of organizations experienced difficulty recruiting full-time regular positions in 2024, with 47% of HR professionals saying it was either somewhat or much more difficult to recruit employees than it was a year ago. 

Questions to answer:

• What problems will this person solve?
• Does this role need to be in a specific location?
• What level of experience is really necessary?
• How does this fit our long-term capability plan?

2. Sourcing candidates

GCCs are getting creative here. They're looking beyond traditional job boards.

Job boards and social sites account for nearly half (49%) of all applications but contribute less than a quarter (24.6%) of actual hires.

A sourced (outbound) applicant is 5 times more likely to be hired than an inbound applicant. 

Common approaches:

• Employee referrals (still the most effective)
• Partnerships with universities and training programs
• Niche platforms for specific skills
• Internal mobility programs
• Contract-to-hire arrangements

The proportion of sourced hires that are rediscovered within companies' CRM or ATS has risen from 29.1% in 2021 to 44.0% in 2024. Many centres now maintain talent pools rather than starting each search from scratch. 

3. Screening and assessment

This stage got more rigorous. GCCs learned that rushing through interviews leads to bad hires.

The average time to hire globally is 44 days, though this varies by industry and location.

The applicant-to-interview ratio in 2024 was 3%, meaning for every 100 applicants, only 3 were invited to interview. 

Better screening includes:

• Skills tests that reflect actual work
• Multiple interview rounds with different team members
• Cultural fit assessment (does the person work well in this environment?)
• Reference checks that go beyond the basic

Hiring teams conduct 42% more interviews per hire than in 2021.

Remote hiring made this harder. You can't just invite someone to the office for a day. So many centres created structured processes that work virtually.

4. Decision and offer

Speed matters here. Good candidates don't stay on the market long.

Top candidates are available for only about 10 days before being hired elsewhere. 

The US has a median time to hire at just 35 days, which is 8% faster than the global average. 

The average offer acceptance rate across industries in 2024 is 90%, with top organizations achieving rates as high as 99%. 

GCCs that move fast have an advantage. This means:

• Clear decision criteria agreed upfront
• Streamlined approval processes
• Competitive offers ready to go
• Quick communication with candidates

5. Onboarding

This is where many GCCs still drop the ball. They invest in finding the right person, then leave them to figure things out alone.

29% of employees quit a job within 90 days of starting. 

69% of employees are likely to stay for at least 3 years with a company that has a great onboarding process, and new hire retention went up by 82% for companies with effective onboarding. 

Strong onboarding includes:

• Clear first-week schedule
• Access to tools and systems on day one
• Regular check-ins with manager
• Connection to team and broader organization
• Gradual ramp-up of responsibilities

Optimizing the Recruiting Workflow

A good recruitment process is only useful if it runs smoothly. Many GCCs still use slow, manual workflows that frustrate both recruiters and candidates.

The technology shift

98.4% of Fortune 500 companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) in their hiring processes. 

86% of businesses using an ATS reported a reduction in time-to-hire. 

AI and automation

87% of companies now use AI-driven tools in recruitment, and 65% of recruiters have already implemented AI. 

81% of companies are planning to invest in AI-driven solutions to automate and enhance their recruiting processes. 

Employers report 30% lower cost per hire and 25% faster time to hire using AI. 

Organizations using AI for recruitment experience a 23% decrease in turnover and a 31% increase in quality of hire, with companies relying upon next-generation recruitment technologies cutting their time-to-hire by 40%. 

But technology alone isn't the answer. 66% of U.S. adults say they would avoid applying for jobs that use AI in hiring decisions.

Where bottlenecks happen

• Approval delays (waiting for someone to sign off)
• Poor communication between recruiters and hiring managers
• Incomplete job requirements that require constant clarification
• Manual data entry and tracking
• Inconsistent interview processes

What works better

Most improvements come from better systems and clearer processes, not fancy technology.

The average recruiter manages 56% more open job reqs (14) and 2.7 times more applications (2,500+) than three years ago. 

The average recruiter headcount per team has declined from 31 in 2022 to 24 in 2024, despite resurgence in hiring activity. 

Start with these:

• Define clear ownership for each step
• Set response time expectations
• Use templates for common communications
• Track metrics that matter (time to hire, offer acceptance rate, quality of hire)
• Review and adjust the process regularly

Measuring success

You can't improve what you don't measure. But pick a few key metrics instead of tracking everything.

Useful metrics:

• Time to fill positions
• Cost per hire
• Offer acceptance rate
• New hire retention at 6 and 12 months
• Hiring manager satisfaction

Less useful:

• Total number of applications (doesn't indicate quality)
• Interviews conducted (activity doesn't equal results)

The Retention Challenge

Hiring is only half the battle. The average voluntary turnover rate in the U.S. is 13.5%, down from 17.3% in 2023 and 24.7% in 2022. 

But the outlook isn't all positive. 51% of employees are actively seeking new opportunities, and 42% of turnover is preventable.

‍

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report predicts that 50% of employees will need reskilling due to technological disruptions.

The cost of replacing an employee can range from 30% to 200% of their annual salary. For a supervisor earning $60,000, that's up to $120,000 in replacement costs.

New Talent Models

GCCs are experimenting with different ways to bring in skills.

Full-time employees

Still the default for core roles. But many GCCs are more selective about which positions need full-time staff.

Contractors and freelancers

63% of companies plan to add contract professionals, and contingent labor is expected to comprise 35% to 40% of the global workforce by 2025. 

Good for:

• Specialized skills needed short-term
• Project-based work
• Testing out a role before making it permanent
• Covering gaps while hiring full-time

Hybrid arrangements

Hybrid models combining captive (in-house) and outsourced teams are the most common shared services operating approach, utilized by 58% of organizations. A steady 50% of shared service organizations rely on outsourcing to meet their targets every year. 

Some people work part-time or split their time between the GCC and other parts of the business. This works well for roles that need deep company knowledge plus specialized skills.

Build vs. buy

For the first time since the pandemic, "access to talent/skills" trumped "cost/efficiency" as the #1 outsourcing driver, cited by 63% of shared services leaders.

More GCCs are creating training programs instead of only hiring experienced people. This works when:

• The skill is hard to find externally
• The work is specific to your organization
• You have people who can train and mentor
• You can afford the ramp-up time

Challenges That Remain

Even with better strategies, GCCs face real obstacles.

Competition for talent

Everyone wants the same skilled people. Competition from other employers is the biggest challenge, with 37% of recruiters citing it as a concern, up from 30% in 2023.

33% of recruiters struggle to find qualified candidates for new job openings. 

Salary alone won't win anymore. People also care about:

• Career growth opportunities
• Work flexibility
• Quality of management
• Interesting projects
• Company reputation

Managing remote teams

22% of businesses cannot offer flexible work arrangements, which is an important factor for many job seekers.

Hiring remotely is easier than managing remotely. GCCs need systems for:

• Keeping distributed teams connected
• Ensuring fair opportunities regardless of location
• Maintaining company culture
• Addressing issues before they become problems

Adapting to continuous change

Required skills shift faster now. A role that needed one skillset last year might need something different today.

GCCs that hire well build in flexibility. They look for people who can learn, not just people who already know everything.

The most successful centres have moved beyond viewing recruitment as a transactional process. Instead, they treat it as ongoing capability development—constantly assessing what skills they'll need next and building pipelines accordingly.

The Bottom Line

The shift from cost centres to value centres changes everything about recruitment in GCCs and shared-service operations.

Recruiting isn't just more important. It's become a competitive advantage. The centres that build strong hiring processes will have better teams and deliver more value.

This doesn't mean abandoning efficiency. It means being smart about where to invest and where to save.

The basics still matter: clear requirements, good candidate experience, efficient processes. But the mindset has changed. Hiring is now strategic, not just operational.

For GCCs and shared-service centres, that's the real transformation. Not just how they recruit, but why it matters.