Company executives no longer believe human resource professionals are just there to handle the nitty-gritty of benefits and compensation. Business leaders are increasingly looking to the HR department to develop innovative business strategies based on data, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.

In fact, the survey found, most CEOS said HR opinions are more important than ever before, with 65 percent of executives agreeing that post-recession, HR opinions carry greater weight with senior management.

"HR is the new frontier for data science applications in business," said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. "In our study, CEOs acknowledge that the recruitment landscape is changing and the need for their HR teams to come forward with data-driven, competitive approaches and efficient technologies is more critical than ever. HR leaders are becoming more influential members of the executive team. CEOs are looking for HR to be just as data-savvy and digitally-savvy as other areas of the company, and take quick, measurable actions that move the business towards its goals."