Zoom Roles in a Meeting & Do You Really Need a Co-host?

Zoom Roles

Zoom Host, Co-host, Alternative Host, Participant … the specifics of these roles can be hard to remember and there have been some changes as Zoom has been upgraded over time.

Fortunately, if you have questions about how to set up your meeting, check out one of the most useful documents Zoom has produced: Zoom Roles in a Meeting. This handy grid will help you determine what roles are necessary for your meeting, and whether you need anyone in roles other than a Host and Participants.

If the meeting is critical and must start in your absence, then you absolutely need to assign an Alternative Host who can start the meeting, and this role must be assigned in advance. It is in fact, the only role you can assign in advance. An Alternative Host becomes a Co-host once the Host is present at the meeting.

Do You Really Need a Co-host?

Having a trained Co-host can be essential if you are managing a large class or other group, but it may not be necessary for all meetings. Here are a few things to think about before you assign Co-host(s) in your meeting:

• Polling: Co-hosts can start a poll, but they cannot set up a poll in advance of the meeting. Critically, Co-hosts also cannot answer poll questions. So, if you are polling your class or group, and you have Co-hosts in the mix, you are missing their voices in the poll responses.
• Screen Sharing: There is a case to be made for making student presenters temporary Co-hosts, particularly because it subtly indicates their enhanced role in that class. However, if you are only making your Participants Co-hosts to facilitate Screen Sharing, think about changing your Zoom settings to always allow Screen Sharing (you can turn that off in a meeting if necessary).
• Breakout Rooms: In older versions of Zoom, it was necessary to make Participants Co-hosts to let them choose their own Breakout Room. However with Version 5.3 and higher, you can set up your Breakout Rooms to allow Participants to choose their rooms.
• Managing Participants: A Co-host has powerful capabilities to manage Participants in a meeting, including the ability to remove Participants (possibly by accident). If you are the Host, think about whether you are comfortable allowing your students or other meeting attendees to have this power.