Ever been late to your own Zoom meeting and wished someone else could start without you? Or had to reschedule because the meeting host couldn't make it? There's actually a simple solution hidden deep within Zoom's settings that most people never discover.
In this quick guide, we'll show you exactly how to set up permanent alternate hosts who can start your meetings when you're unavailable.
If you're part of a busy team juggling dozens of meetings weekly, you've probably encountered this scenario: the meeting host is running late or can't attend, and nobody else can start the meeting. Everyone sits in the waiting room, productivity grinds to a halt, and frustration builds.
Zoom does offer an "alternate host" option, but you need to manually add alternates to each meeting you schedule – a tedious process that's easy to forget.
Here's how to set up permanent alternate hosts for all your meetings:
1. Go to zoom.com and log into your account
2. Scroll down on the left menu and click on Settings
3. Select the Meeting tab
4. Scroll all the way down to the very bottom of the page
5. Find the Schedule Privilege section
6. Click Edit, at the bottom of this section, and add any email addresses you want
7. Enter the email addresses of team members you want to give scheduling privileges to
8. Next to each email address, check the box labeled Manage my private events
9. Click Save
10. (Optional) Enable access to cloud recordings if needed
That's it! Now these team members can start any of your Zoom meetings even when you're not available.
For remote or hybrid teams that rely heavily on Zoom, this setting is a game-changer. At XRAY, as a 100% remote team, we've found this particularly valuable as we coordinate meetings across different time zones and shifting schedules.
The "Schedule Privilege" setting effectively gives selected team members permanent alternate host abilities for any private event you create, including Zoom meetings that are automatically attached to Google Calendar events.
If you're encountering other frustrating software issues, our team at XRAY Hourly can help. We provide rapid support for low-code builders using automation apps like Zapier, Make, Notion, Airtable, and dozens more.
We match people who need help with low-code experts all over the world, with calls available within 48 hours.
Reach out today to speak with a solutions expert and we’ll match you with your engineer this week!
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