White paper

Onboarding for Skills Mastery not Skills Masking

Plug Skills Gaps to Futureproof the Workforce - 82% of employees say onboarding needs improvement - 58% admit to “skills masking” - 1 in 3 workers under 45 report skill-set anxiety - Skills gaps are business risks. Discover how leading brands like YMCA, EQ, and Circle K are transforming onboarding with gamified simulations that build confidence, close gaps, and deliver measurable ROI

Attensi Team

Published August 25, 2025 · Updated September 28, 2026

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Key takeaways

Based on an independent survey of 2,000 employees in the US and the UK, commissioned by Attensi.
The report highlights a “skills masking” crisis in onboarding, featured in The Hill.
Onboarding is challenging for everyone, but the nature of the challenge differs by generation and employment type.
Confidence, engagement and psychological safety are highly predictive of onboarding success.
Organizations risk missing opportunities by underestimating the importance of data and analysis.

Summary and key findings

As featured in The Hill report from Washington DC, this survey highlights a "skills masking crisis" - just one of the challenges, perceptions, and improvement strategies surrounding employee onboarding and learning and development (L&D) programs across a diverse workforce. It explores how generational and employment status differences influence experiences with onboarding, confidence, and skill development. The study also examines how organizations measure onboarding success, the adoption of technology and data analytics, and employee openness to innovative solutions like AI-powered training. By capturing both structural gaps and emotional realities, such as skills gaps anxiety and resistance to feedback, this paper aims to inform more effective, inclusive, and data-driven onboarding practices.

Onboarding is universally challenging, but the nature of the challenge differs by generation and employment type
Confidence, engagement, and psychological safety are highly predictive of onboarding success
Organizations risk missing opportunities by underestimating the importance of data and analysis

Full Data: Attensi commissioned an independent survey of 2,000 employees in the US and the UK.

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It explores the challenges, perceptions and improvement strategies around onboarding and learning and development: how generation and employment status shape onboarding experiences, how organizations measure onboarding success, the use of technology and data analytics, and employee openness to AI-powered training.

Attensi commissioned an independent survey of 2,000 employees in the US and the UK.

Confidence, engagement and psychological safety are all highly predictive of whether onboarding succeeds.

Fill in the form on this page to download the full report and data.