HR tech is big. Remote and hybrid work have quickly developed the HR tech industry. As of 2022, the HR tech industry is valued at about $63 billion, and by 2026 is expected to surpass $91 billion. Yet roles in the HR department whose only remit is tech are still rare, and HR leaders, generalists, and specialists are learning tech skills as quickly as they can, or working with STEM professionals elsewhere in the company. A sizable share (45%) of HR leaders say they’re sharing responsibility for tech strategy with IT, according to a small 2023 survey by Gartner.

I interviewed Sahana Mukherjee, head of HR, global wealth technology at Citi, in a fireside chat during From Day One’s August virtual conference. The conversation titled, “Emphasizing the Human Impact of Technology at a Time of Rapid Change” kicked off the virtual conference.

Mukherjee recommended two criteria when picking new tech tools for the HR department. The first is purpose: What are you trying to accomplish and why does it matter? “When it comes to technology and the continued rapid pace of change at which technology evolves, there will always be shiny objects to chase, but we just need to figure out which one is important to us and aligned with our goals,” said Mukherjee.

The second is clarity: How is this going to help other departments? Mukherjee said that HR tends to evaluate tools based on how it benefits its own department. Not inherently bad, of course, just short-sighted. “It’s important to understand how it connects across the board and how it can help others succeed,” she said. “We are the connecting tissue across any organization—from when a person applies or engages with our company site to the point they’re off-boarded and an alumnus of our organization—we are the connecting points.”

In this way, she said, HR can be a train, or it can be an Uber. “[A train] has a defined path, defined stops,” she explained. “It’s meant to drive more connectivity where those locations that connect point A and point B wouldn’t have that connectivity to begin with. You can plan in advance because it’s all defined.” But with an Uber you choose points A and B, and the route is fluid.

Neither is superior to the other. In fact Mukherjee recommended working both ways—a plan with enough room to adapt as the market and environment changes. That’s part of HR’s new job in business—to be simultaneously visionary and practical. “You should always have an aspirational goal, that this is the target state we want to get to, which is significantly enhancing your current state, but you have to be pragmatic in terms of the steps that lead to that.”

HR doesn’t appear to have a lot of confidence in workers’ feelings about tech they have to use. The Gartner survey indicates that less than half of HR tech leaders say workers are happy with HR tech, the rest guess those workers are either neutral or unsatisfied.

“Historically, HR has been heavy on crisis management, but we are positioned more and more as value creators for the organization.” How? Human resources can develop its people analytics capability, help prepare the business for AI tools that come its way, and be on the lookout for the skills the business will need in the future, both near and far.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Quartz at Work, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife, among others.