Ask HN: If you don't permit telecommuting, why?

I'm writing a feature story tentatively titled, "Why the Company You Want to Work For Won’t Hire Telecommuters." I'd like your input.

Plenty of businesses are interested in hiring only onsite staff. I want to explain the viewpoints behind such policies – and then, ideally, address what it would take for those organizations to hire telecommuters or remote workers.

So I’d like to hear from two types of respondents:

* Someone who has been in a hiring role at an organization where the job requisitions typically say, “Local candidates only, please.” (Whether or not you’re in agreement with the policy.)

* Someone who’s applied to a job that says, “on site only” and gotten a remote job despite that requirement.

If you applied to an “on-site only” job ad and got the gig anyway, there’s just one question: How’d you make that happen?

My questions are primarily for the people on the hiring side:

* Why does the person who does this job need to be on-site? Please be specific. Give me examples of things that can only be done if she were in the office.

* Have you been in a position where you personally would be okay with an employee being a telecommuter, but a decision-maker deemed otherwise? How did you handle it?

* How has the policy affected your company’s ability to attract candidates?

* Have you hired someone for an in-the-office job, and later given permission for the individual to work from home? What happened to make the change okay?

* What would it take for the company to change the no-telecommuters policy, even if only for one specific position? For example, “If a rock star in my field applied for the job, we’d do anything to get him to say Yes – including letting him work remotely.” But there can be many other answers, and I’d very much like to hear yours.