Consumer electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. is handing off the management of its human-resources administration to outsourcing vendor Exult Inc. under a deal disclosed Monday.

Under the seven-year agreement, Exult will provide payroll, benefits administration, compensation, and employee contact-center services for 38,000 Circuit City employees. Exult will manage the services from facilities in Charlotte, N.C., and Mumbai, India. An Exult spokesman says the contract is worth several million dollars but declined to be more specific.

HR administration is the fastest-growing segment of the business-process-outsourcing market, according to research firm Gartner. The firm expects total HR BPO sales to grow 18% this year to $46 billion and reach $51 billion next year.99