Bridgewater just released a series of videos that looks like something Facebook or Google would produce

Employees are encouraged to regularly dissect each other's thinking to determine the root of decision-making, to rate each other's performance using iPad apps, and to send an audio file to any person mentioned in a meeting — all meetings, with few exceptions, are digitally recorded for either audio or video. "Pain + Reflection = Progress" is a guiding phrase.

Dalio founded Bridgewater out of his apartment in 1975 and laid the foundation for its culture through the '80s, but it wasn't until he formalized his management approach in his guide "Principles," made public in 2011, that the firm began regularly appearing in the media and facing scrutiny.

Critics have accused it of being "bizarre" and like a "cult;" in July the New York Times published a story that highlighted a harassment claim by a former employee, including his allegation that the hedge fund was a "cauldron of fear and intimidation" (the employee later withdrew his complaint and moved to a new firm).

Dalio has consistently replied that his firm's culture is misunderstood, specifically calling that Times report a "distortion of reality."

The new recruiting material may be Bridgewater's biggest statement yet on defending how it operates.

Bridgewater's new site prominently features Dalio, Jensen, and other executives talking about their careers and engaging with employees. Some of the previous site's videos remain, but much less is left to the imagination when combined with the new ones.

The new material has a lighter feel than some of the older stuff, and there's even footage of Bridgewater's annual "scrum" race, where all levels of employees race in the woods and water around Bridgewater's Westport, Connecticut headquarters.

Bridgewater has been developing new ways to recruit talent, the company's head of client service and marketing and cohead of its core management team, Brian Kreiter, explained to Business Insider in a recent interview. The new site and culture videos are part of this strategy of opening itself up.

You can check out the new look on Bridgewater's website.