Recorded Reports

I just started my first nursing job. I moved to a new province and I can't believe how different it is from what I'm used to. I've never done anything other than verbal report, on my new unit the charge nurse does the recorded report, most of the time you can't tell who they are talking about or can barely hear them ( a lot of the unit nurses verbalize this). There are no kardexes so I find myself starting my shift and having to look everything up on the computer for each patient and make my own notes. There is no handover and the night and day nurses don't even see eachother before leaving, so there is no opportunity to ask questions. I am still orienting so I am hoping I will get used to it? I just don't feel like it's safe or effective. Any tips for a new nurse starting out in a new environment ? I made myself a kardex-like form, I think I'll start showing up at work early and filling it out before report.