Hello, I hope this topic makes sense here.
General Info: My company is a big global player, paying below average and they are heavily limiting expenses for a year already (eg raises & travel ban, limiting new hires etc.) but we are growing, have a great team and exciting projects I love to work on, plus me being in a influential key position of our most important business section made me stay already for 4 years. The skillset needed for my job is very niche. I got my last raise 2 years ago (+25%) when moving into senior position internally (added responsibilities and starting to grow a team). Im in my late 20s, working in Germany, if that adds anything.
In the past years we grew from me being a one man department to me managing a team of 3 below me. The newest addition earns nearly my salary (-5%) even trhough the skillset between uns and responsibilities are extremely far apart. I took the candidate myselfe, reason was that we operate in a niche and its very hard to find people. So even having a slighly overpaid and underskilled employe is a good deal in the long run.
Now the problem is that obviously I was already asking for a raise before the new hire came (since I do the hiring myselfe I know i'm underpaid for some time by now). I raised that multiple times, last with the newest hire arrival being nearly my pay level while they only need to take over a fraction of my responsibilities. The company is sneaking its way througth yadda yadda economic crisis, add. spends are hard to allow, just wait a bit more yadda yadda. My boss and bosses boss (basically local ceo level) are supportive of me getting a raise but also said there is nothing they can do at the moment due to the global hardloc on most additional expenses requests. I genuinely they that this is overall true, althrough noting in our company is ever written in stone.
I don't want to leave the company (yet) even through I know I could get easily 30% and more at a competitor. I have a great standing that could leverage in the future and I know by fact that other competitors have a less good work climate & management style. But I dont want to accept the underpayment much longer as well. Low balling and reducing work output is also not really an option because I love what I do and would not feel good sabotaging it.
Any recommendations how to act or what to do?