Just wanted to share/vent about the last three weeks since I started this new job. Thanks in advance for reading.

So I recently was hired as an Assembly Supervisor at a cabinet shop inside of a larger warehouse operation. This is a brand new branch of a chain of these facilities that are all over the US. I am well qualified for my position and have no qualms saying so, though there is still a ton I have to learn.

The first week was spent learning the assembly process. I was trained by a man from China who spoke zero English and required a translator to convey information. He was able to train me on assembly, but I got zero information on the administrative side of things. He was only there temporarily for training and has since left.

I am the only person with any amount of cabinetry experience. My assembly team consists of former restaurant workers and a mom who went back to work after her kids were grown. Don't get me wrong, my team are great people, but they lack understanding of some core concepts of assembly and using tools in general. They are also almost all immigrants for whom English is their second language. I have one guy who cannot read a tape measure.

The person who hired me is a high ranking person in the company who travels around to the different facilities to get them up and running. He would constantly regurgitate platitudes about how we are making a "championship team" and stuff like that. He spent a lot of time explaining how to send emails and the process in the warehouse side of things, but again, very little in terms of how the assembly side is actually supposed to be run. I understand how to build the cabinets and do the quality control process, but as far as what the day to day operations are supposed to be and how to manage work flow/meet production quotas, nothing. Nada. I had to basically force him to show me how to print out the order lists and he acted annoyed and said "it's not that hard." He was supposed to be around for another month or so to help us get off the ground, but ended up leaving that same day without saying goodbye to me.

My department hasn't officially begun production yet, but the warehouse side has. Slowly, one by one my team members have been poached to help out on that side. I initially had four team members under me and now I am down to one full time and one part time. The full time guy is the one who cannot read a tape measure, and the part time is the mom. Right now we are just practicing assembly with burner cabinets and our production numbers are not good.

I was told yesterday that the company is concerned that assembly is not ready to start production. I don't take it as a personal indictment since they acknowledged that I need more people, and they plan to hire some. But it's still very frustrating. No shit we aren't ready, you haven't trained me on how to actually do my job and keep pulling my team members away! Everyone is behind on training and I have very little guidance. No mentor, no handbook, nothing. They are talking about sending me to another facility for a day or two to shadow the assembly supervisor there, which is a good idea and I will happily do that. But we are supposed to complete our first order by Dec 4th, next week is thanksgiving...you get the point.

So that's kinda where I'm at. There's a ton more info I could provide for more context, but the basic gist is there is a MASSIVE communication problem. I have no problem being assertive and advocating for what I need, but I am pretty frustrated by the seemingly losing position I have been put in. It's going to be up to me to extract the information I need to run a successful department, and I feel like I have very little support. I have faith that it can be done, but it's going to be a long uphill battle. This job is paying me the highest salary I've ever had and I feel like I have to see it through. I just wish there was anyone around who can or will try to understand my experience and offer guidance.

Sorry for the rambling format, and thanks for reading if you got this far.