How Salesforce Supports Neurodivergent Employees
Learn how the Office of Accessibility creates an ecosystem of success enablers for neurodivergent employees.
At Salesforce, we believe that diversity of thought isn’t just a “nice-to-have” — it’s our greatest competitive advantage. In an era of agentic AI, neurodiversity brings unique perspectives, problem-solving abilities, and innovation to our teams. But to unlock this potential in our neurodivergent employees, we need to create systems flexible enough to support every kind of mind.
That’s why Salesforce’s Office of Accessibility has built a comprehensive support ecosystem that leverages AI tools and agents, personalized coaching, and community-driven resources – what we call success enablers – to help neurodivergent employees focus on what they do best.
Support without stigma: Removing the friction of disclosure
While self-identification of disability has increased, professionals with physical disabilities or neurodivergence often do not request accommodations. Deloitte’s Disability Inclusion @ Work Survey suggests that the biggest barriers to requesting support are fear of negative perception and previous accommodation rejections, whether at other employers or by previous managers.
Managers often face friction regarding logistical costs of accommodations. According to the survey, nearly 75% of accommodation requests were rejected due to costs, implementation difficulties, or the perception that the request was unreasonable.
To remove these concerns and ensure equity in the accommodations that Salesforce provides, the Office of Accessibility established a Central Accommodation Fund, ensuring that the cost of accessibility — whether for assistive technology or coaching — is centralized and never dependent on a manager’s budget.
We’ve also removed the “disclosure tax,” as the accommodations provided through the Office of Accessibility do not require a doctor’s note or manager approval. Anyone can request these tools at any time during their employment at Salesforce, and the majority of success enablers are available regardless of an employee’s location.
To further reduce concerns of disclosure privacy, Salesforce employees have access to the AI-powered platform, Retain, which features a zero-logging architecture. This means employees can confidentially explore over 90 success enablers — from sensory tools to specialized software — without their search history ever being visible to a manager or HR.
AI tools and agents that empower
Neurodivergent individuals often possess exceptional strengths paired with specific executive functioning challenges. We use AI and agents to support these profiles, automating routine cognitive tasks to free up mental bandwidth for strategic, creative work.
Our suite of inclusive productivity tools includes:
- Slack – Our agentic operating system, with personal AI agent Slackbot that can summarize, organize, search, and draft, reducing the cognitive overload of having to dig for documentation or past conversations.
- Grammarly – AI-powered writing assistance that reduces the mental effort required for written communication
- MindView – Mind-mapping software that supports visual thinking and project planning
- OmniFocus – Task management tools designed to help with executive functioning and prioritization
- Cephable – Revolutionary assistive technology that enables hands-free computer control through voice commands, head movements, and facial expressions
- Reclaim.AI – AI-powered meeting scheduling, focus-time management, and task-scheduling
- Read & Write – Literacy support software that assists with reading comprehension and written output
Engineering the ecosystem: The manager-as-ally
True neuro-inclusion isn’t just about the individual; it’s about the holistic environment. We don’t place the burden of “fitting in” solely on our neurodivergent talent. Instead, we invest in our leaders to ensure the system is able to adapt to the person.
Our Neurodiversity Job Coaching program, delivered in partnership with Genius Within, is not just designed to help neurodivergent employees get support, but is also providing managers with tools to support and bring the best out of their neurodivergent talent. The real differentiator is our investment in leadership:
- Leader-Specific Coaching: We provide dedicated sessions for People Leaders to help them understand cognitive diversity and move from “managing for compliance” to “managing for brilliance.”
- Global Reach: This human expertise is available in six languages across all time zones, ensuring that a culture of allyship is a global standard, not a local perk.
- Measurable Impact: Our coaching doesn’t just improve confidence; it transforms how teams communicate and innovate together, with participants reporting improved relationships and structures.
One participant shared: “I signed up as a manager and as someone who has ADD to better prepare for my Q4 reviews with my direct reports, and to better communicate with individuals on my team in the way they needed to be communicated with.
“My coach helped me create a plan to utilize our internal AI tools to put together talk tracks and make me feel more prepared to communicate with each of my team members…it made me feel more confident and more in touch with my team.”
Salesforce’s Office of Accessibility also developed customized Trailhead trainings for all people leaders on how to lead disability-inclusive teams, including courses on building neurodivergent talent management skills, inclusive language training, and allyship, further investing in managers who create team environments that work for all minds.
Want to upskill in accessibility? Check out our newest Trailhead module on designing Salesforce for all users to get started for free.
Belonging, community, and mentorship
Support for our neurodivergent employees would not be complete without Neuroforce, our Equality Group dedicated to championing neurodiversity by transforming perceptions, reducing stigmas, celebrating differences and fostering a globally inclusive environment.
At the heart of Neuroforce is community with employees who identify as neurodivergent and allies: twice-monthly meetings provide space for members to share experiences, learn together, and support one another, while their social Slack channel offers a safe, judgment-free space for casual conversation, resource sharing, and peer connection.
Neuroforce also channels their collective energy into giving back. In 2025 alone, members generated over 750 hours of volunteer impact supporting NGOs that serve neurodivergent communities.
While its core purpose is to nurture connection and increase neurodivergent employees’ sense of belonging, Neuroforce is also a strategic partner in Salesforce’s product roadmap.
By involving Neuroforce members in the product design processes, we ensure that Salesforce products aren’t just accessible — they are intuitive for every kind of mind, including the employees that use our products every day.
Learn more about how Salesforce’s Equality Groups are AI Trust Testers
The PurpleSpace Mentorship Program, a partnership between the Office of Accessibility, Neuroforce, and Abilityforce, trains employees with disabilities, including neurodivergent employees, to mentor their colleagues for a three-month program. The mentees also identify as individuals with neurodivergence or a disability.
Through a structured curriculum focused on building confidence, personal branding, and self-advocacy, participants develop the skills they need to thrive in their careers. The impact is measurable: mentees report a 42% increase in confidence to self-advocate and request workplace accommodations, while their confidence in framing their personal narrative surges by 54%.
But the numbers only tell part of the story. What truly makes PurpleSpace transformative is the community it creates: a safe space where employees with disabilities and neurodivergent employees can connect with peers who share similar experiences, discuss challenges openly, and build authentic relationships.
One PurpleSpace mentee shared, “Knowing that I’m not alone was a biggie… loneliness is the toughest wall to break. So when that wall was broken I was already in the positive… It was a place where I could say I had a tough period, that everything was like flaring up… and I could share it with someone at work.”
Through meaningful connection, shared experiences, and giving back, Neuroforce and mentorship programs like PurpleSpace ensure that no neurodivergent employee has to navigate their journey alone.
When support incubates success: Toby’s story
The impact of Salesforce’s neuroinclusion programs is transforming careers.
Take Toby Harris, a Named Account Executive in the UK who was recently nominated as a Neurodiverse Business Awards 2026 Rising Star of the Year.
Toby, who is dyslexic, describes his neurodivergence not as a hindrance but as a unique cognitive lens that drives his success as a top performer at Salesforce:
“My dyslexia can be a competitive advantage as a seller. It enhances my natural aptitude for systems thinking and visualizing complex processes, skills that have enabled me to lead market-making deals and build highly successful sales teams.”
But what truly sets Toby apart is how Salesforce’s ecosystem of support has enabled him to innovate. With access to assistive technology tools (Toby is a top 1% user of Grammarly!), coaching resources, and the community of Neuroforce, Toby has the confidence and support of his manager to go big with his solutions:
“My team and I created a new outsource service provider channel framework to help Salesforce partner more effectively with business process outsourcers that was a first of its kind for us. It has since become a go-to-market blueprint for our customers, helping them more efficiently collaborate with their vendors.
“When you build a team with different backgrounds, including people who are neurodivergent, you are going to benefit from the unique perspectives they each bring to the table. My team’s diverse perspectives allowed us to see different solutions that made this project successful.”
Toby’s success illustrates a powerful truth: the future of work isn’t about making everyone work the same way; it’s about creating a workplace flexible enough to support every mind. When we provide the right support, neurodivergent employees don’t just thrive — they become leaders.
