A nonprofit hospital network is introducing an AI tool to help schedule nursing shifts. Frontline nursing staff are anxious, with rumors circulating that the tool will be used to justify staffing cuts. Leadership has not yet communicated anything officially. Select the TWO actions that best reflect a transparent communication strategy for addressing this workforce concern. (Select TWO.)

Creating a channel where staff can ask questions and get direct, honest answers, including about job impacts, and proactively communicating the tool's specific goals, implementation timeline, and effect on staffing decisions, together define a transparent communication strategy: staff get real information and a real way to raise concerns before rumors fill the vacuum. Delaying any communication about workforce impact until well after the tool is fully deployed leaves that vacuum in place during the exact period rumors are already circulating, which is the opposite of transparency. Asking department managers to informally reassure staff that nothing will change, regardless of the rollout's actual scope, is dishonest reassurance that will backfire and damage trust the moment reality diverges from the promise. Avoiding any public discussion of the tool until the rollout is fully complete repeats the harm caused by the current silence, denying staff the chance to raise concerns or prepare before the tool is already in place. The operational check: transparency means communicating honestly about real effects on roles before and during rollout, even when the truth is uncomfortable, rather than offering blanket reassurance or extended silence.