Having worked withGlobal Capability Centers (GCCs), across continents, I often see a familiar pattern unfold during office openings, key launches, company events or executive visits. Teams scramble to impress, managers jockey for visibility, and everyone puts on their best face regardless of underlying realities. These orchestrated performances – what many of us privately call “dog and pony shows”, mask the real challenges that prevent these centers from reaching their full potential.
I’ve learned to spot the warning signs that indicate deeper problems. More importantly, I’ve identified approaches that work to address these issues. Here’s what I’ve learned from the trenches.
When Your GCC Needs Attention
1. The Performance Gap Widens
When work quality drops with high performers burning out while others coast along, you’re facing a motivation and accountability crisis. This isn’t just about productivity metrics – it’s about a fundamental disconnect between effort and outcomes.
2. Talent Walks Out the Door
Top performers leave when they lose three essential elements: purpose, autonomy, and growth. When talented people start updating their LinkedIn profiles en masse, it’s not about compensation – it’s about feeling valued and seeing a future.
3. The Outside Knows More Than the Inside
When people outside your organization seem more informed about what’s happening than your own employees, your communication channels are broken. This information vacuum breeds uncertainty and mistrust.
4. Bureaucracy Creates Information Bottlenecks
Multiple approvals, excessive hierarchy, and territorial behavior make accessing basic information painfully difficult. When people spend more time navigating the organizational maze than doing meaningful work, efficiency dies.
5. Leaders Outshine the Brand
Some local leaders cultivate personal brands that overshadow the organization they represent. When someone becomes bigger than the GCC brand they’re supposed to nurture, priorities have become dangerously misaligned.
6. Image Management Trumps Substance
Creating special “Days” for Instagram reels while employees remain confused about vision and purpose reveals a concerning disconnect. When social media optics matter more than organizational health, you’ve lost sight of what drives real performance.
7. Public Platforms Become the Only Outlet
When employees feel their only recourse is to air grievances on Glassdoor or social media, internal feedback mechanisms have completely failed. No one should learn about their team’s frustrations through a viral post.
8. Diversity Becomes a Checkbox Exercise
When diversity initiatives focus primarily on meeting industry standards and filling reporting dashboards rather than creating genuine inclusion, you miss the real benefits of diverse thinking and perspectives.
How to Build a Healthier GCC
1. Create Genuine Feedback Channels That Work
Skip-level meetings, anonymous suggestion boxes, and regular pulse surveys help, but only if leaders listen and act on the feedback. Show people their input matters by making visible changes based on what you hear.
Try this: Institute a “You Spoke, We Listened” program where leadership regularly communicates specific changes made in response to employee feedback.
2. Focus on Purpose, Not Performance Theater
Help everyone understand how their work connects to larger organizational goals. Replace orchestrated visits with candid discussions about challenges and opportunities. Celebrate progress authentically, not just when headquarters is watching.
Try this: Start every meeting with a brief reminder of how the team’s current work connects to customer outcomes or organizational impact. Make it specific, not generic.
3. Rebuild Trust Through Transparency
Share information proactively, even when it’s uncomfortable. Explain the “why” behind decisions. When you can’t share something, explain why rather than creating an information vacuum that rumors will fill.
Try this: Institute regular town halls where leaders share business updates, answer unfiltered questions, and admit when they don’t have all the answers.
4. Empower Local Decision-Making
Push authority down to where the information is. Trust your teams to make decisions appropriate to their level, and create clear escalation paths for the rest. Document what decisions can be made at what level to reduce confusion.
Try this: Create a simple decision matrix that clarifies who can decide what, reducing the time spent seeking unnecessary approvals.
5. Connect Learning to Real Opportunities
Don’t just offer training – create opportunities to apply new skills on meaningful projects. Form cross-functional teams to tackle real business problems, allowing people to grow while delivering value.
Try this: Establish a “skill accelerator” program where employees spend 10-20% of their time applying new skills on projects outside their regular responsibilities.
6. Measure What Matters
Look beyond standard metrics like attrition and engagement scores. Measure whether people feel their work matters, whether they have opportunities to grow, and whether they can speak truth to power without fear.
Try this: Add questions about psychological safety and meaningful work to your regular pulse surveys, and share the results transparently.
7. Model the Behaviors You Want to See
Leaders must demonstrate vulnerability, curiosity, and commitment to growth. When leaders admit mistakes, ask for help, and show they’re still learning, it creates space for everyone to do the same.
Try this: Start leadership meetings by sharing a recent mistake or learning moment, normalizing growth and continuous improvement.
The Path Forward
Building a healthy GCC isn’t about quick fixes or superficial changes. It requires sustained attention to culture, communication, and leadership behaviors. The most successful centers I’ve worked with share a common trait: they prioritize long-term organizational health over short-term appearances.
By addressing these warning signs early and implementing practical approaches to overcome them, GCCs can transform from cost-saving outposts into true centers of excellence that attract and retain top talent while delivering exceptional value.
What challenges have you encountered in your GCC, and what solutions have worked for you? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments.
Keen to amplify your GCC’s employee communications and branding? Book a call today: https://topmate.io/aniisu
Missed earlier articles?
Look them up here:
GCC strategy, communications and branding
Is your Global Capability Center Pulling its Weight? 7 Ways to take Stock.
Road Mapping Global Capability Centers Communication Priorities and Progression
4 Communication Strategies to Consider when Expand your Global Capability Center Network
Differentiate your Global Capability Center Using These Tips
Five Communication Dilemmas that Global Capability Centers Must Overcome
5 Tips to Turnaround a Global Capability Centers’ Communication Team
5 Communication Mistakes Global Capability Centers can Avoid
Placing Communication at the Heart of Global Capability Centers
The Critical Role of Communications at Global Capability Centers
Three Approaches to give Global Capability Centers an Edge
3 Ways Global Business Services Leaders can Build a Strong Social Media Presence
Why Global Business Services Leaders Must Focus on Building Thought Leadership
Culture and Communication – a Missed Opportunity for Global Business Services Leaders (Part 2)
Culture and Communication – a Missed Opportunity for Global Business Services Leaders (Part 1)
Communication as a Center of Excellence – Building a Strategy
Communications as a CoE for Shared Services Success
Five Approaches to Contribute to the Global Business Services Ecosystem
Are Global Business Services Organizations differentiating their Brands Locally?
6 Ps to Differentiate Your Global Capabiluty Center
Integrating a New Global Capability Center – 4 Communication Strategies to Make Change Effective
Tapping the Power of Ideas in Shared Services Centers
Building an Inclusive Shared Services Leaders Communication Plan
Designing a Consistent Business Problem Solving Forum in Global Capability Centers
5 Communication Approaches for Successful Knowledge Transitions
