Salary Increase Attrition & Hiring Trends: An India GCC View 2026

If the last few years were about expansion, 2025 is about recalibration. Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India are no longer chasing scale for the sake of it, they’re optimizing, rethinking, and building for value. The talent narrative is shifting too, from pay-driven competition to performance-led differentiation, from job roles to skills as the new currency, and from filling vacancies to building resilience.

We’ve reached a point where salary hikes have stabilized, attrition rates are normalizing, and hiring is getting sharper, more lateral, more skill-led, more deliberate. But beneath these numbers lies a deeper transformation: the emergence of a skills-first, purpose-driven workforce economy.

Why We Created This Report

As we engaged with GCC leaders, a consistent question kept coming up, “How do we stay competitive in this evolving equilibrium?”

The talent landscape has matured post-pandemic, but it’s also fragmented. Salary cycles are steadying, yet niche skills are commanding 1.7x higher hikes. Lateral moves are outpacing new hires. High performers continue to walk, even as companies double down on engagement and rewards.

We wanted to go beyond the noise of “hiring freezes” and “wage moderation” to decode what’s really shaping workforce strategies across GCCs today. The result is this report: a reality check backed by data, insights, and on-ground intelligence from over 90+ GCCs across India.

What’s Inside the Report

This edition of Zinnov’s Salary Increase, Attrition & Hiring Trends Report 2026 dives deep into how GCCs are:

• Redefining Rewards: From “pay for role” to “pay for skills & impact.”
• Reimagining Career Paths: Lateral moves in AI/ML, Cloud, and Cybersecurity are outpacing traditional vertical promotions.
• Reshaping Retention: Attrition is stabilizing, but high-performer churn remains a concern — demanding more purpose-led engagement.
• Rethinking Resilience: Tier-II city hubs, hybrid models, and AI-led compensation analytics are redefining how GCCs attract and retain talent.

The report also unpacks granular data, salary increase forecasts by level and function, attrition breakdowns, niche skill premiums, and hiring intent across industries and geographies, all through the lens of a recalibrated GCC economy.

As GCCs evolve from expansion to optimization, the focus is shifting from “how much” to “how well.”
And understanding these shifts, in compensation, hiring, and retention, isn’t just critical; it’s competitive advantage.

If you’re shaping talent, strategy, or workforce design within a GCC, this is a read you can’t afford to skip. Download the full report here and see how India’s GCC ecosystem is rewriting the future of work.